re: why you don't want to be a statistic in wikipedia

Quoting Dreyja:“ I don't think I'll have a problem keeping a spare supply of milk around, unless something changes dramatically, ... [snip!] ... couples, it's because of him that this pregnancy has been so amazingly easy for me. Awe, I feel all mooshy and stuff. Blah. xD”

Wow.... I wish I had been even half this grown up at 20... Wow You've thought through so much and you are already showing so much maturity. You'll learn allot sure but good for you. Just remember BF is best and yes it is a PAIN so get LOTS of support from friends and family if you can. Dr's nowadays aren't much (found this out the hard way) and read up allot. Dont stress yourself out too much too having kids will do it enough for you  

I thought this was a load! Teens have sex, regardless. It's going to happen. Statitistics won't stop it. I am 17 and found out that I am pregnant. I am now 29 weeks. Unlike those statistics, however, I used a condom. The condom busted so I got pregnant. Whenever I told the father, we first started thinking of adoption, but you know what he said one night? "Beth, I think we should keep him. God gave us a gift, who are we to give it to someone else." and I agreed. He proposed to me like 2 months after I got pregnant. Why? Not because i'm pregnant. Because he wanted to be with me. He loves us, me and our little boy.

I dropped out of High School. Before I found out I was pregnant, because I was homeschooled so long, the High School I was going to wouldn't let me graduate until I was 21. So yes, I am a statistic in that. You know what I wanted to do before I got pregnant? I wanted to be a movie director. I wanted to make independant films, music videos, humor, etc. I changed my plans when I got pregnant. Now, i'm going to go to school to be a CRNA. And yes, it will be that much harder for me to do without a high school diploma, knowing I will only have my GED, but it's what I want to do, and it will well help me and my son.

I definately had to grow up fast, but it wasn't that hard, you know why? I've never partied. I've never been drunk, i've never done drugs, snuck out of the house on late nights, skipped school, or anything like that. I was raised not to do that, and my mom beat it into me. Yes, i've had a billion and one chances to do so, but I didn't, because I DIDN'T want a bad reputation. I wanted to be the minority, one of the few people who could make a good time out of video games and a bowl of popcorn, and scary movies. I didn't have to get drunk. And this is a life I will pass onto my son. Whenever he is old enough to know right from wrong, and he does wrong, I will spank him. My parents spanked me, it's not like i'm torturing the poor guy, it only teaches them right from wrong, and he will learn. I love my little boy already, and I haven't even seen him yet. The problem with statistics is the negative. They don't show you what good a teen parents can do, it only shows you what they can't. So my son won't wear Dolci and Gabanna, and he won't even have his own nursery, and oh gosh, he may not have a dust ruffle. But you know what he will have? A mother who loves him, and will give him what he needs. Truly needs. Our families have been MORE than supportive, in fact, I would say they are borderline taking over my pregnancy. And I don't like it, simply because this is our baby, we will raise it. Not our parents. You know what teen parents can do? Have the energy to play with our kids. Help our kids in school more with bullying in such, because we had been there not too long ago. Relate to our children. We will be there when our kids have kids, and maybe if those go on to have children as well. If he does become a teen parent, guess what? I can help him better, because I went through it. Yes, I will discourage it and I will let him know how hard it is, but I will not disown him for it, and I will not kick him out. I will be here for him like my parents are for me.

What an interesting place to post statistics about teen pregnancy. I can speculate that most of the teen mothers, or rather young mothers actively searching about their pregnancy and posting on pregnancy forums, on a pregnancy website are not going to fall into this 'statistical pool'. Why did you write about this topic knowing full well that many to-be mothers would reply with such defiance? Why not write about the statistics on having a baby when you are old.. older than 35? Do you know where these studies took place, what sample size they used, what kind of bias the reporter had? Beside correlational statistics do not place cause and effect.. just because a 'majority' of teen mothers within their survey we're a certain way or had children who ended up with problems doesn't mean that they were that way BECAUSE theywere ateen mother. I am like many who have posted on your topic, 21 pregnant (overdue by 8 days), unmarried, graduating University (can you guess? with apsychology degree).

I just think that one is wrong to believe in 'facts'. Nothing is truely fact without fiction.And actually 'statistically' teen pregnancy rates in the US and Canada have dropped within the last 5 years.

Women and their partners, if they have them, have a choice to become a parent(s). I really think this topic isn't being given to the correct target audience. Perhaps you should try lobbying at a local high school.. I really think this information is important but it is also important to be smart and use information appropriately.

Quoting Dare2Be:“ I am like many who have posted on your topic, 21 pregnant (overdue by 8 days), unmarried, graduating University (can you guess? with apsychology degree). ”

I guessed it. LoL. Sorry but in the first paragraph I guessed you were a Psychologist or a Pysch major (I am a Psych major)
I agree with you though. Lots of statistics are completely biased. Who knows if this one was or not, but either way....

Something I found interesting...also from wikipedia....

-At the age of 13, Lady Margaret Beaufort gave birth to her only child, who later became Henry VII of England.

-Sacagawea, translator and guide to Lewis and Clark, gave birth to her son, Jean Baptiste Charbonneau, while on expedition, and traveled with him to the Pacific Ocean and back. Although Sacagawea's exact birth date is unknown, she was probably 17 or 18 at the time of the birth.

-Child actress tuned diplomat Shirley Temple was 19 when she gave birth to her first child, Linda Susan, in 1948.

-Oprah Winfrey gave birth at the age of 14 to a baby who died in hospital weeks after it was born.

-Anna Nicole Smith had her first child, Daniel, when she was 18.

-Author Beverly D'Onofrio, whose autobiography Riding in Cars with Boys was adapted into the 2001 film of the same name, was 15 years old when she gave birth to her son Jason in 1961.

-Maya Angelou, an American poet, memoirist, actress and an important figure in the American Civil Rights Movement became pregnant at the age of 16 and gave birth to her son, Guy Johnson, who also became a poet later in life.

I understand that this is your site Mara and by all means if this post makes you upset than you can delete me from your members and I won't come back. But I looked up "Teen Pregnancy" just as you said in Google. Looked at wikipedia and no where on wikipedia is this information you claim to have gotten. They even say in it the reason they think women are having children younger. I'd like to know where exactly you got these statistics because I can't find them any where on Wikipedia. Wikipedia says that there is no health risks for teen parents (There's not a lot of pregnant women starving themselves) except for in developing countries.

wow i'm sure someone else has brought this up(i am not spending alll dayreading 42 pages of post thou lol)but you relize that wikipedia's "facts" can be all made up.. right? the website is made off of users inputing info some of the people who add stuff can be highschool drop outs......but like i said i'm sure this was brought up already but that was my only objection to this post

i do wana say something thou that i have experianced.... alot of people are negitive about teen pregnancy..... parents disown their own kids and force them to do it themselfs witch in my mind is bad parenting i could never do that to my kid!!! i bet those kids could raise a kid better if they had suport negitive feedback helps some people motivate but for most of us it depresses us gives people the feeling they cant do it their doomed! so when you go on a board that is FOR teens and discurage them you are just helping those stats!!!!!!!!!!! you are the reason some (oviously not in all cases) of those stats are comeing true!!!!! I am confident i will be a wonderfull mother! i have all the suport of my family and the daddy's family. they are wonderfull people and you know what my baby is a gift!. i was told i may never have kids becauseof problems that run in my family! most women in my family lose there uterus and overies by the age 25. that dosn't mean i wanted one this early but hey you know what i make 800- 1000 dollars biweekly as a doggroomer and marc makes 500 - 800 a week! we have our own place and have since we got engaged in febuary then found out i was prego in april. but people like you mess with my self esteem its been tough but i just recently learned to say shove it where the sun dont shine cause i a passionate about my child and my ability to raise this child and none of that would be possible if i didn't have support!!!! thats my point. Its great that this site is here cause it brings support to know im not alone but then you go and post stuff like this it's an oxymoron and the girls on here will get defencive cause they are sceard!! so many people like you are out there and arn't verry sensitive or nice with what they say so of corse these girls worrie about how they will do as a mom witch causes lower selfesteem someone with no confidence is less likely to suceed! rember that i know you THINK(witch is cool and all)but your not for some girls (more then you are helping) your makeing it worse.

sorry for all the spelling and poor grammar i suck at grammar but ill beat your but at any math problem :-P


oh and no matter what! teens are gonna have sex ..... have babbies drink .. do drugs...... sad as it is! do you remeber being a teen? hearing about how all this stuff is bad and laughing at it at school? i did drugs when i was 13 now i think they are dumb! cause i did them! and experianced it point is i did it ... i first had sex at 14! decided i wouldn't dso it again till i was 17 i gave in but only cause i experianced it did i wait so long......... so those that you dont weaken their self esteem probly dont care what you have to say at all! hell they sent a guy to my school who had a whole in his throat cause he smoked and guess what up untill i got pregnant i smoked (five years) i knew it was dumb but you know what! i didn't care ......... think about it

Quoting .:.PregnantAgain.:.:“ I understand that this is your site Mara and by all means if this post makes you upset than you can delete ... [snip!] ... no health risks for teen parents (There's not a lot of pregnant women starving themselves) except for in developing countries.”

directly from here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teenage_pregnancy

as you can see: 


Being a young mother in an industrialized country can affect one's education. Teen mothers are more likely to drop out of high school.[6] Recent studies, though, have found that many of these mothers had already dropped out of school prior to becoming pregnant and those in school at the time of their pregnancy were as likely to graduate as their peers. One study in 2001 found that women who gave birth during their teens completed secondary-level schooling 10-12% as often and pursued post-secondary education 14-29% as often as women who waited until age 30.[63]
Young motherhood in an industrialized country can affect employment and social class. Less than one third of teenage mothers receive any form of child support, vastly increasing the likelihood of turning to the government for assistance.[64]The correlation between earlier childbearing and failure to complete high school reduces career opportunities for many young women.[6] One study found that, in 1988, 60% of teenage mothers were impoverished at the time of giving birth.[65] Additional research found that nearly 50% of all adolescent mothers sought social assistance within the first five years of their child's life.[6] A study of 100 teenaged mothers in the United Kingdom found that only 11% received a salary while the remaining 89% were unemployed.[66] Most British teenage mothers live in poverty, with nearly half in the bottom fifth of the income distribution.[67] Teenage mothers are seven times more likely to commit suicide than other teenagers. [2]
One-fourth of adolescent mothers will have a second child within 24 months of the first. Factors that determine which mothers are more likely to have a closely-spaced repeat birth include marriage and education: the likelihood decreases with the level of education of the young woman – or her parents – and increases if she gets married.[68]

[edit]Impact on the child


Early motherhood can affect the psychosocial development of the infant. The occurrence of developmental disabilities and behavioral issues is increased in children born to teen mothers.[69][70] One study suggested that adolescent mothers are less likely to stimulate their infant through affectionate behaviors such as touch, smiling, and verbal communication, or to be sensitive and accepting toward his or her needs.[69] Another found that those who had more social support were less likely to show anger toward their children or to rely upon punishment.[71]
Poor academic performance in the children of teenage mothers has also been noted, with many of them being more likely than average to fail to graduate from secondary school, be held back a grade level, or score lower onstandardized tests.[6] Daughters born to adolescent parents are more likely to become teen mothers themselves.[53][6] A son born to a young woman in her teens is three times more likely to serve time in prison.[72]

There are developmental and behavioral issues when the mother is "too old" to be having children too.... but does anyone give them a bad rap? NO...

I am not saying I am for teens getting pregnant... but I think everyone needs to realize that not all teen moms are bad and not all teen moms have kids with problems.

ETA: by "everyone" i mean "the world population" not just people on BG

Plus, it is not uncommon in other countries for mothers to be young. It depends on their culture, therefor, it depends on the culture whether teen pregnancy is considered bad or not. Seems like the US needs to get up to date... shit we could be electing a vice president into office when she has a teenage daughter who is pregnant.

Quoting ~Mallory~:“ There are developmental and behavioral issues when the mother is "too old" to be having children too.... ... [snip!] ... to get up to date... shit we could be electing a vice president into office when she has a teenage daughter who is pregnant.”

right.  the us needs to get "up to date" ... 

please cite the studies that back your claim about developmental and behavioral issues.

if you're referring to the fact that women over the age of 35 have a higher chance of giving birth to a child w/ down's syndrome, then you're on the wrong boat in this discussion.

teen pregnancy is a fully preventable problem, a genetic issue (such as down's syndrome) is not.

I gotta say, I actually dropped out of High School when I was about 16-17. I went to get my GED, scoring with honors, but I kind of wish I has just put up with the tediousness of the 'no child left behind' teaching and followed through. I'll feel pretty bad trying to explain to Adi why she should get an actual diploma when I myself didn't bother.
I also partied a lot and had a lot of unprotected sex before I met my husband. I'm not exactly a person most people would expect to be a good parent. When I got pregnant, (even though we thought my husband was sterile), I wasn't bothering to use any form of protection.
I'm unemployed, I don't have your typical education, and I honestly think that Adi would have had better opportunities had a been more careful and waited to have her.
Regardless of being lumped into these statistics, I really think this thread has a lot of merit, and I hope you young mothers are actually taking some of it to heart, and not just lashing out due to fear, ignorance, or hormones. Mara's made a lot of really good points, and it's always better to learn any and all information available to you. It will probably help you in some way or another, even if it does just look like numbers and insults right now.

And as for those young mother statistics on famous people, you also need to remember that in several of those cases they were people living in a time where few lived past the age of 40ish, and many girls were married and bearing children as soon as they started menstruating.

Quoting Mara:“ right. the us needs to get "up to date" ... please cite the studies that back your claim about developmental ... [snip!] ... boat in this discussion. teen pregnancy is a fully preventable problem, a genetic issue (such as down's syndrome) is not.”

I am not saying that people giving birth when they are older is a PROBLEM like teen pregnancy is. What I am saying is that it doesn't always depend on the age when developmental and behavioral problems are being spoke of. I am all for women having children at whatever age they want, but I am not for teenagers TTC. I understand that genetic defects is not preventable, but there are higher risks for them occuring when the mother is older.

1) Older Mothers Pass on Infertility Risks to Daughters
Dr Nagy said, "A mother's reproductive age is important not only for herself, but it will determine to a certain extent the chances of her daughter or daughters being infertile. When we are treating patients close to the age of 40, we are helping them get babies but, at the same time, these children will have a higher risk of becoming infertility patients." (http://www.bio-medicine.org/medicine-news/Older-Mothers-Pass-on-Infertility-Risk-to-their-Daughters-15280-1/)

2) It is well-known that older women have a higher chance of having a baby with a genetic abnormality, such as Down's syndrome, Edward's syndrome or Patau's syndrome. Figures for England and Wales show that your chance of having a baby with a genetic abnormality rises from 1 in 500 between the ages of 35-39, to 1 in 250 between 40-44, up to approximately 1 in 70 if you are 45 or over.......There is another small but serious risk to the babies of more mature mothers. More babies die in the uterus right at the end of pregnancy in mothers aged over 40. Figures for 2006 show that the rates of stillbirth were steady at around 5 to 6 babies per 1,000 births for women aged 20 to 39, but increased to just under 9 babies per 1,000 births for women aged 40 and over. (http://www.babycentre.co.uk/pregnancy/antenatalhealth/ageandpregnancy/)

I know this stuff can happen with any pregnancy (IM NOT STUPID), there is just a slightly higher risk when the mother is older.

I am done posting in this discussion since my words seem to be getting twisted around everytime I post something.

Peace Out.

Quoting Buffding:“ I thought this was a load! Teens have sex, regardless. It's going to happen. Statitistics won't stop ... [snip!] ... hard it is, but I will not disown him for it, and I will not kick him out. I will be here for him like my parents are for me.”

Umm Not all Teens have sex regardless. Some do listen and take to heart advice from people who have been there done that and learned from it. Why are you putting all teens in the same category and yet being upset at the same time that you feel someone else is? You haven't even had your baby yet or spent time parenting him.
I hope you get to realize your dreams, I hope you dont do as so many young moms (yours truly included) do and get so defensive at heart felt advice that u shut out people who care.
Yep condoms break that is why they should only be a back up that is why there is the morning after pill or God forbid stopping and hey putting a different one on. But the thing is most teens dont think about this. I know I didn't teens aren't mature enough because they are still developing.
Being a young parent doesn't mean you'll have more energy or be able to relate more to your kids. Learning from experiance and having the maturity to not only see things from one point of view so no being younger doesn't mean you'll have an easier time "relating" to ur kid. Unless you count relating as being in the same maturity.

Quoting .:.PregnantAgain.:.:“ Something I found interesting...also from wikipedia.... -At the age of 13, Lady Margaret Beaufort gave ... [snip!] ... Rights Movement became pregnant at the age of 16 and gave birth to her son, Guy Johnson, who also became a poet later in life.”

SERIOUSLY! Have you SEEN the movie ridding in cars with boys?!? She hatted the fact that being a teen mom meant she missed out on so much. It was a great movie great book but come on! THIS is your reasoning??? Henry VIII got syphilis passed it on to his wives and kids making them struggle with still borns and infirtility oh and by the way
THAT WAS A COUPLE HUNDRED YEARS AGO!
Yes back in the day younger and younger girls had babies and were forced to marry and have children. So does that mean your ok with the 12 year old who because she has started menstrating gets "married" and rapped by an older guy?
One of the reason that is no longer the case is because as a society we KNOW better now. Children raising children just doesn't work isn't a good idea and help should be given to those finding themselves in the situation! Not praise I mean are we really that cruel as a society?
I was a teen mom, my older sister was a teen mom, two of my nieces are teenage mothers, out of all of us I was the only one who got my degree, has a good paying job, a house and lots of opportunities.
My niece had three of her children taken away, my sister when she had her second child didn't even have a cradle or a bed
I know I was stubborn as a teen but seriously there is no reason to be this arrogant. WE ALL LEARN as parents. Why not be thankful that in todays society we have people wanting to help rather then telling us its to be expected that we should know how to do it on our own?
Your examples of young mothers... sucks.