Healthcare Policy

Teenage Pregnancies, STD’s and Sex Education

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Teenage Pregnancies, STD’s and Sex Education

Teenage pregnancy is a worldwide scourge that has been with us for a very long time. It is one of the most devastating occurrences that may occur to a teenager, their parents, their community and the country at large. This is because in as much as it affects mainly the teenager, the consequences go far and wide and in the long run affect even the economy of the country at large. The other public health issue not frequently discussed is that of the rate of spread and acquisition of sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s). STD’s are a huge threat to the health and wellbeing of several teenagers and the youth at large. Several strategies have been put in place to ensure that this is well controlled. However, maximal control is yet to be achieved. This is because of several reasons mainly because some honestly lack the knowledge on the prevention, others are afraid to discuss it and therefore end up not having adequate information on the same while others fear seeking help after infection .

The individual that suffers the most in these occurrences often happens to be the teenager and most often the female. Apart from having an interference with their academic schedule, these individuals face a lot of physical and emotional turmoil. During pregnancy especially in a teenager, several changes take place including physical, emotional and physiological changes. Teenagers are still in their age of growth and often times their pelvis are contracted, this poses a great danger to them especially at the time of delivery. Also, their nutritional status has been documented not to be able to sustain a pregnancy and therefore their bodies have to adjust to the new change .

The psychological torture that they encounter stems out of the fact that most of the time this pregnancy is unwanted. Another huge issue that they have to face is parental disappointment in them. Their friends may also abandon them and if they decide to proceed with school till around the time of delivery then they have to face being the topic of discussion and some form of bullying while in school. This can be extremely depressing to the child. Several incidences of post-partum depression have been shown to occur in this group of mothers following delivery due to all the reasons listed above among others. In other areas of the world, majority of pregnant teenagers end up dropping out of school and there have been certain legislations that have been put in place which discriminates them even further .

A more recent one was the case of Tanzania, Eastern of Africa. The president of this country recently passed a legislation that will ensure that if a teenager gets pregnant while in the school going years, then they will not be allowed to go to school and even when they deliver, they will not be allowed to go back to school. In his defense he wants to promote abstinence by creating fear among the teenagers. However, in my opinion, this will increase the rate of poverty in that country. If a teenager cannot be allowed to resume school just because they were pregnant in the course of their study then this will reduce the number of people who complete their studies and thus increase the unemployment rate.

Closer home, in the United States, it has been documented in recent data that 700,000 new STDs occur annually, mostly gonorrhea of which some still go unreported. In Texas, the rate of primary and secondary syphilis was at 4.6 /100,000 in 2011. As of 2015, this figure had increased to 6.2/100,000. It was ranked 13/50 in chlamydial infections and 11/50 in gonorrheal infections. In the year 2015, 4,476 Adults and adolescents were diagnosed with HIV in Texas. These figures are steadily rising and are more among the teenagers and the youth. These are highly disturbing since the complications and eventualities of STD’s are disastrous. It is because of these reasons that policies should be put in place to ensure adequate sex education since it is evident that teenagers are engaging in sexual intercourse .

From time immemorial, Texas has been known to be a pro-abstinence state. However with recent statistics, these might have to change. As of 2009, the teen birth rate was reported to be the third highest in the nation at 63.4/1000. 52% of the teens had engaged in sexual intercourse. 38% were presently sexually active and 42% reported not to have used a condom in their last intercourse. These figures depict a need to reinforce sex education among the teenagers or even earlier. It is therefore my proposition that sex education be taken more seriously especially within schools from the age of 8 or 9 years. When started at this age, it will be early enough and it will give the child adequate time to process all that is involved in sex. The lessons should include the organs involved during sex and their functions in the body. They should be given more of the diagrams at this age especially of all the long term effects that may occur on all the organs when an individual has STD’s. Images of pregnancy and videos of how pregnancy occurs should be availed to this group of children .

As they get older, each and every STD should be addressed. This must be in detail including the mode of transmission, the signs and symptoms, the prevalence within their area of stay broken down to understandable figures such as 1 in every 7. This will create some form of fear and will make them want to protect themselves since they will be having the statistics. They should also be taught on the issue of contraceptives and how they should protect themselves from getting sexually transmitted diseases. A picture speaks a thousand words. For this reason photos of how STD’s look like should be made on posters and placed within the school in areas where all the children will have adequate access and therefore pass the information across.

Most importantly, since we have the statistics and we know that most teenagers in Texas are engaging in sex, abstinence should not be over emphasized, instead in most social gatherings, sex education should be made the priority because insisting on abstinence make the teens fear approaching their seniors when face with problems such as the possibility of having acquired an STD. This thus delays the duration of presentation of the teenager to the hospital which complicates the condition. For this reason, in most hospitals there should be teenage friendly services which will enable them to approach the facilities for help easily. During these visits emphasis on prevention should be made to ensure the teenager leaves the hospital empowered to empower her friends. Presently they are encouraged to visit hospitals but this is often a difficult task. My solution for this is therefore that when a teenager presents at a facility and a diagnosis of an STD is made, then the school in which the individual is enrolled in should be given a health talk and if possible samples taken from all the individuals in the same class plus two other classes- The one before and the one after the patients class with the hope that he partner might be in one of these classes. Those that test positive should then be treated without discrimination in a friendly manner .

In as much as the statistics say most of the teenagers are already having sex, it should be noted that a smaller percentage 48% are not having sex, assuming that they were extremely honest about it. Modified strategies should therefore be put in place to ensure that those that choose to abstain find motivation and a stronger will to continue with their amazing decision. In all these options that the teenagers have, abstinence is the one sure way that teenage pregnancies and acquisition of STD’s may be stopped. This is because contraceptives and barrier methods have in very few instances been shown to fail. Promise rings can be given to these group of teens, certificates, tangible gifts continuously especially by their parents. These would go a long way in ensuring that they remain motivated and focused. The main way to achieve the abstinence is by adequate and early sex education in life because if one understands the concept behind what they are taught together with the consequences then they will try as much as possible to avoid the implications that arise with sexual intercourse. Finally, parents should be taught on ways to give their children this type of education way early in life. This will make it easier for the teachers in school and will make the concept sink deeper within the individual. Together we can all raise awareness and reduce the incidences and prevalence of teenage pregnancies and STDs.