MEYCAUAYAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Camalig, Meycauayan City, Bulacan

EARLY PREGNANCY AMONG TEENAGERS

A QUALITATIVE STUDY AMONG STUDENTS OF

MEYCAUAYAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

GRADE 11 ABM (A)

Alexa Veronica Ruth-Anne P. Arellon

Amber Joy Anerdes

Daniela Marie Morquianos

Marie Jeroy

Maria Angelica Sergote

Daniela Canceran

Mr. Ariel Villar

OCTOBER 2017
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

EARLY PREGNANCY AMONG TEENAGERS

A QUALITATIVE STUDY AMONG STUDENTS OF

MEYCAUAYAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

A Qualitative Research Study Presented to

The Faculty of the Senior High School Department

As Partial Fulfillment for the Subject

Practical Research I

GRADE 11 ABM (A)

Alexa Veronica Ruth-Anne P. Arellon

Amber Joy Anerdes

Daniela T. Canceran

Marie Jeroy

Daniela Marie Morquianos

Maria Angelica L. Sergote

MR. ARIEL VILLAR

OCTOBER 2017
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

EARLY PREGNANCY AMONG TEENAGERS

A QUALITATIVE STUDY AMONG STUDENTS
OF MEYCAUAYAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL

Alexa Veronica Ruth-Anne P. Arellon

Amber Joy L. Anerdes
Daniela T. Canceran
Marie Jeroy
Daniela Marie B. Morquianos
Maria Angelica L. Sergote

*Meycauayan National High School

ABSTRACT

Teenagers are the ones which are the main subject of pregnancy these days and
especially students are the ones which are most prone to different factors which can
lead to this phenomenon. The researchers aim to discover and fully understand the live
experiences of teen mothers in Meycauayan National High School to contribute in
raising awareness regarding the consequences and the things that they would
experience if they got themselves involved in sexual activities and possibly become
mothers at a young age. The researchers executed their data gathering with the use of
semi-structured interviews and interviewing through Messenger in which both were
conducted in an iterative and simultaneous manner. Thereafter, they deciphered the
obtained data into codes and categorized them accordingly, then generalizing those
categories into themes. Upon finishing the study, the team arrived on the conclusion that
the obtained literatures are existing in the lives of the teen moms, the themes and
categories have a certain relationship with each other and were discovered to have a
certain process involved in it with the clear understanding of their life situations,
experiences and views from being a teen mother.This study has potential in contributing
to the society in mitigating teen pregnancy by impart knowledge not only to teenagers
but also for other people regarding the consequences which they will undergo once they
got themselves involved in situations which can lead to teen pregnancy and thus derive
and know the best ways to prevent it from happening.

KEYWORDS: Teenagers, Pregnancy, Experiences

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The researchers would like to extend their profound and heartfelt gratitude to the

following who contributed much to the succession of this study:

Mr. Ariel Villar, Research Teacher and Adviser, for his guidance, constructive criticisms

and valuable advices;

Miss Myra Cayabyab, Class Adviser, for her heartfelt moral support to them;

To their parents who provided financial and moral support;

To the respondents who provided their valuable statements which was necessary for

the completion of the study.

To those people who in somewhat way have contributed to the realization of the study;

And most of all to the Divine Providence, without which, this study will not be possible.
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

INTRODUCTION

The Philippines is the only Asia-Pacific country where the rate of teenage pregnancies

rose over the last two decades and the slow decline of its overall fertility rate may deprive the

country of the faster economic growth expected in places that have more working-age people

than younger and older dependents. Teenage pregnancy is a situation which involves female

adolescents and affects millions of young teens. This can cause lots of endless problems in the

life of the teenage mom and newborn child. Teen pregnancy is closely linked to a host of other

critical social issues poverty and income, overall child well-being and income, responsible

fatherhood, health issues, education, child welfare and other risky behavior. According to

United Nations Population Fund (UNPFA) pregnancy among girls less than 18 years of age have

irreparable consequences. It violates the rights of girls, with life-threatening consequences in

terms of sexual and reproductive health and poses high development costs for communities,

particularly in perpetuating the cycle of poverty.

According to a statement issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a

total of 249,078 babies were born to women aged 15-19 years, for a birth rate of 24.2 per 1,000

women in this age group in the year 2014. This is historically low for teens and a drop of 9%

from 2013. Birth rates fell 11% for women aged 15-17 years old and 7% for women aged 18-19

years. Although reasons for the declines are not clear, more teens may be delaying or reducing

sexual activity, and more of the teens who are sexually active may be using birth control than in

previous years.

Pregnant teenagers face many of the same obstetrics issues as other women (Mayor,

2004). There are, however, additional medical concerns for pregnant girls aged under 15, who

are less likely to have become physically developed enough to sustain a healthy pregnancy or to

give birth and also pregnant teenagers are prone to many different health risks.
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

On January 2014, a qualitative phenomenological study was conducted by Pogoy et. al,

in Cebu Normal University which focuses on the lived experiences of early pregnancy among

teenagers. In their study, they concluded that high performing teenage mothers are college

levels and work for a living to support the needs of their child while low performing teenage

mothers ended up as housewives.

Last September 2015, a qualitative study exploring the live experiences of African-

Australian teenage mothers in greater Melbourne, Australia regarding early motherhood was

conducted. The study concluded that teenage mothers are having a hard time coping with the

increased responsibilities following the birth of the baby, managing the competing demands of

schooling, work and taking care of the baby in a site of settlement. Also, the young mothers

indicated that they received good support from their mothers, siblings and close friends but

rarely from the father of their baby and the wider community.

There are different influences that could make the teenagers engage themselves in

sexual activity (Sociology, 2001). Among the influences were the social and economic factors or

on subcultural factors. Among these factors include the family income level, parents marital

status, and religious participation. Early sexual behavior is also associated with drug and

delinquency.

Teenage girls, being mothers in a young age suffer consequences which has a huge

impact to them as an individual of the society (Simigiu, 2012). There is a huge probability that

their relationships will end which is higher than those who give birth after the age of 20. They

also have high chances to abandon school and will have limited employment opportunities

which can result to lower income that might end up to poverty.

For some adolescents, pregnancy and childbirth are planned and unwanted, but for

many they are not. Adolescent pregnancies are more likely in poor, uneducated and rural
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

communities. In some countries, becoming pregnant outside marriage is not uncommon. Some

girls do not know how to avoid getting pregnant: sex education is lacking in many countries.

They may feel too inhibited or ashamed to seek contraception services; contraceptives may be

too expensive or not widely or legally available. Even when contraceptives are widely available,

sexually active adolescent girls are less likely to use them than adults. Girls may be unable to

refuse unwanted sex or resist coerced sex, which tends to be unprotected (World Health

Organization, 2014).

On March 2016, an article in Manila Bulletin was published by EmeterioBarcelon Md.,

where he shared pieces of advice to teenage girls for them to be able to prevent teenage

pregnancy from happening. Rule 1: Do not go to a place or room where nobody else sees you.

Rule 2: Make it a rule that you will not allow boys to touch your body under your dress and Rule

3: Realize that boys get excited far faster than girls.

Research mostly focused on studying the different factors that influence the teenagers

to engage in sexual activities that could lead to teen pregnancy, reasons on why they engage

themselves in such activities and the ways to prevent it from happening. Experiences of teenage

girls regarding early pregnancy varies on their social and societal status. Research regarding the

experiences of teenage mothers are usually focusing on a locality to further understand the

situation that the teenage girls have experienced and went through.

The researchers formulated a list of research problems which will serve as their guide in

undertaking this study. They had a general problem: What are the live experiences of teen

mothers?. Preceding are the significant problems which helped them to further analyze their

study: What are the different categories of the live experiences of teen mothers?, What are

the different themes formed regarding the live experiences of teen mothers?. These problems

will be asked iteratively and simultaneously for clarification and confirmation of the statements
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

that will be given by the respondents. With these problems, they proceeded to their study

accordingly.

THEORETICAL / CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK

The study seeks to explore the realities of teenage mothers in Meycauayan National

High School using semi-structured interviews and through Messenger in an iterative or

simultaneous data gathering procedure. The connection of these concepts in literature and

studies eventually provides the bases on how they exist and emerge on the lives of the

participants. The researcher codes the data to form categories and later reduced the data into

themes to explain the live experiences of the participants in both graphical and verbal form.This

framework therefore uses these relationships and connections to describe the peoples live

experiences to establish the truth.

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

The paper shows a closer view regarding the papers related literature, interconnected

scholarly and journal articles, significant theoretical underpinnings and a brief showcasing of

some related studies on teenage pregnancy and the experiences of the teenage mothers. These

will provide as the bases for systematic analyses of data and information which will help in

formulating the findings, conclusion and recommendations of the study.

Teenage pregnancies are often associated with social developmental issues such as lack

of sufficient education and poverty which often results to single parenthood which catalyzes

conditions that render the mothers to become irresponsible. Hence, it conveys a social stigma in

various countries and cultures (Salvador et. al, 2016).

An early journal article was published by Card and Wise (1978) which emphasizes on the

impact of early childbearing on the teenage mothers and fathers personal and professional

lives. The article indicates that teen childbearing results in greater educational setback.

Apparently due to their relatively low educational attainment, adolescent parents are more

likely to have low-prestige jobs and could lead to low income and greater job dissatisfaction.

Consequently, another early journal article was published by Furstenberg, Brooks-Gunn

and Morgan (1987) which analyzes the life experiences of adolescent mother and their children

in the later life. In the article, they discussed that the young women who gave birth at an early

age when disadvantaged in a way that their likelihood of economic success will dramatically

decline and their family population will increase. Changes in the mothers life courses affected

some aspects of their childrens behavior at all ages since the mothers welfare is highly

associated to the behavioral problems in her child during the preschool years, but not later on.

In contrast, the mothers marital status was not related to behavioral problems during preschool

but was clearly related to such problems during the childs adolescence.
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

A later research was conducted by Geherson et. al (1989) which focuses on the

prevalence of coercive sexual experience among teenage mothers. In their study, a total of 61%

of the respondents reported such experiences, where one-third of them experienced unwanted

sexual intercourse. The victims generally knew the perpetrators where nearly 30% had been

abused by a family member. The respondents state that nonfamily perpetrators tended to be

boyfriends, dates and friends of the young mothers.

A journal article was published by Burke and Liston (1994) which analyzes the

adolescent mothers perceptions of social support and the impact of parenting on their lives.

Most of the responses given were mostly your mother and your childs father were the

selected items on social support wherein open-ended responses to the impact on their lives

reveal both positive and negative results. In the article, they arrived in a conclusion that

education is needed for fathers who are perceived as important sources of social support to the

mothers.

The year after, a study was conducted by Nitz, Ketterinus and Brandt (1995) which

assessed the role of stress, social support and family environment on adolescent mothers

parenting behaviors. Their findings revealed that the adolescent mothers own mother was the

most frequent source of conflict and those mothers who identified more individuals as a source

of conflict tended to have less positive parenting behaviors. The studys analyses revealed that

child age and interpersonal conflict were significant predictors of maternal behavior in addition,

social support moderated the effects of interpersonal conflict when conflicted networks were

large. Parenting stress, per se, was not a significant predictor of maternal behavior.

A journal was published by Larson (2004) which analyzes the parenting stress among

adolescent mothers in the transition to adulthood wherein the majority of mothers did not

report elevated levels of stress and among them, approximately 30% of them were reported to
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

have clinically high levels of stress. Criticism from a parent regarding their childbearing and

intimate partner violence were both found to be related perceptions of parenting stress.

On an international journal of adolescence and youth published by Taylor and Francis

(2012), they emphasized that media, peer and family influences are considered as risk factors

that highly influences the teens sexual behavior. Glamorous television and magazine shots of

famous pregnant teens influence teens to engage in sexual activity and become pregnant

themselves. Some teens decide to get pregnant so they can drop out of school. Girls who have

lived in foster care have double the teen pregnancy rate of peers outside the foster care system.

Girls whose fathers are in the home as they grow up are less likely to become teen parents.

Ignorance of effective contraceptives leads to teen pregnancy. Some teens are pregnant in order

to force a sexual partner into more commitment. Some are defiantly rebelling against what they

perceive as overly strict parental rules. Some are engaged in sexual behaviors but lack

knowledge about how to obtain contraceptives to prevent pregnancy, while others are

pressured by their sexual partners not to use condoms. Thus, many factors are involved in teen

pregnancy and man strategies need to be considered in attempts to decrease teen pregnancy

rates (Honig, 1984). The biggest risk for teen mothers is delaying parental care in which in USA,

7.2% received no care at all (Weiss, 2011).

Pregnancy in adolescents puts at risk mothers and child health. This risk is major while

the woman is younger, especially when the social and economic conditions are not favorable,

which is decisive in later psychosocial development (Cancino& Valencia, 2015). In 2015, an

international journal article published by Cancino and Valencia pointed out that low education,

with minor academic and laboral expectations, with low self-esteem and assertiveness, tend to

begin early their active sexual life, to use less frequently contraceptives, and in the case of
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

younger women, to be pregnant, with the risk of abortion because they cannot make the best

decision.

In a 2012 international journal article published by Karger and Basel, they stated that

ignorance about sexuality and reproduction both in parents, teachers and adolescents increases

the early initiation of coital relations and of unwanted pregnancies. Extreme poverty and being

the son or daughter of an adolescent mother are risk factors of repeating the early pregnancy

model. The application of predictive risk criteria in pregnant adolescents to facilitate the rational

use of health services to diminish the material and perinatal mortality is discussed as well as the

social factors associated with adolescent pregnancy as socio-economic levels, structure types

and characteristics of the family, early leaving school, school after delivery, female employment,

lack of sexual education, parental and family attitudes in different periods of adolescent

pregnancy, adolescent decisions on pregnancy and children, unstable partner relationship and

adoption as an option. In the article, they also stated that social consequences include

incomplete education, more numerous families, difficulties in maternal role, abandonment by

the partner, fewer possibilities of having a stable, qualified and well-paid job, greater difficulty

in improving their socioeconomic level and less probability of social advancement and lack of

protection of the recognition of the child.

Socio-economic phenomenon caused teenagers to experience pregnancy associated

with poverty include low family income, crowded community, semi-squatter dwelling type and

school disengagement (Meneses&Saratan, 2015). In a phenomenological study conducted by

Meneses and Saratan in 2015, they emphasized that prevalence of family problems/conflicts

including ruptures relationship with parents, broken family and limited parental guidance can be

a factor that influence the occurrence of teenage pregnancy. Those factors also include peer

influences which are usually associated with hanging out with wrong barkadas, involvement in
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

drinking sprawl and alcoholic misuse. The consequences of teenage pregnancy which is mostly

experienced by teenage mothers are family problems including financial problems, nourishment

of the child and early responsibilities. They also experience discrimination acts like feedback

about early pregnancy and usually being the topic of rumors. Teenage mothers unmet goals are

to go abroad, to finish their studies and to support their family. The coping mechanisms of the

teenage mothers are getting family support, acceptance of the phenomenon, getting support

from the husbands family and finding employment.

As a whole, the explanations given highlighted the different factors which could

influence the teenagers to engage in sexual activities, the aftermath of being teenage parents

and the different life situations that they will experience upon entering the early parent life as

teenagers. Since, a teenage parents experiences vary depending on their societal and social

standing therefore the researchers would like to further analyze the emerging experiences of

teenage mothers and to contribute in mitigating teenage pregnancy.

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

METHODOLOGY

The different instruments utilized in gathering data for the study were semi-structured

interviews and chatting the respondents through Messenger and at the same time allowing the

respondents to write their thoughts in paper for an easier way of expressing their ideas and

statements regarding their experiences as teenage mothers.

As a way of sampling, the researchers randomly selected 3 teenage students from

Meycauayan National High School whom were interviewed regarding their life experiences

being a teen mother.

As samples, their names were withheld to respect their privacy. In doing so, only the

researchers involved in the interview knew of their identity.

The obtained data will be analyzed with the use of direct coding / glossing method to

decipher codes which will be grouped accordingly in order to identify certain categories

generalizing them into themes for the evident showcase of the relationships of the statements

of the teenage mothers from each other and generally presenting the results obtained from the

testimonies of the teen moms.

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Figure II: Graphical Organizer of Themes, Categories and Codes

EXPERIENCES OF TEEN MOTHERS

Family

Teenage mothers have their families beside them during their pregnancy.A teenage

mom revealed My family supported me during my pregnancy thats why I managed to go to

school while I was pregnant. Even now, my family is still supporting me so that I can finish my

studies and have time for my daughter in which the researchers can derive on the idea that

their parents supported them financiallyin order for them to continue schooling. At the same

time, one of the participants stated, I was desperate to abort the baby but my parents helped

me to overcome the hurdle of my pregnancy and supported me all throughout which

emphasizes that families are not only there to support financially but at the same time they also

offer moral support to them. These statements are aligned to the study conducted by Nitz,
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

Ketterinus and Brandt (1995) in which their findings revealed that the adolescent mothers own

mother was the most frequent provider of support.

On a statement given by one of the respondents saying, It was my aunt who first

doubted my pregnancy. She reported it to my mother but my mom was still reluctant in believing

it which cause a misunderstanding to both of them, it revealed that the difficulty of accepting

the teen pregnancy among teenagers can be the root of misunderstanding among the family

members. On the testimonies of one of the teen moms, she revealed that she also experienced

difficulties in voicing out the pregnancy to her family since she is frightened of the reactions

that her families would offer to her.

Friends

Teen mothers can also experience social stigma from the reactions that the people who

are closest to them can offer especially from their friends. A teen mom testified, I almost lost

everything; friends, classmates and teachers. I lost time to bond with my friends, in which we

can arrive to the idea that being pregnant in a young age can make others think that it can be a

situation where teenagers are at the peak of being delinquents and be considered as bad

influences. On the contrary, another teen mom countered, me being pregnant is not something

that I should be ashamed of in front of my friends since they are also teen moms wherein it

could be determined that the influences of the peers or having the same exact situation as
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

your friends can be a reason for the teen moms to be at ease despite the situation that they are

in to.

Society

In a phenomenological study of Meneses and Saratan which was conducted last 2015,

they concluded that teen moms usually experience discrimination acts like feedback about early

pregnancy and usually being the topic of rumors. A statement given by one of the participants

was closely aligned to the conclusion of the said study where she stated, do my very best to

reach my life goals so that when the time comes, people will have no say nor insult me regarding

my past of being pregnant in such an early age. It depicts that the teen mom must showcase

hard work and perseverance to prevent herself from receiving the negative treatment among

the people around her.

Experiences with Teen Fathers (including other guys)

Boyfriends, dates and friends of the young mothers are considered as the nonfamily

perpetrators of teenage pregnancy (Geherson et. al, 1989).Even during the knowledge of

pregnancy, teen mothers confessed that a change of heart happened to some guys. They

experienced discrimination from the other guys after having a breakup with the father of their

child. Though, one of them stated that she felt at ease when she found a romantic partner who

accepted her despite knowing that she was a teen mom.

PSYCHOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF TEENAGE MOTHERS

Thoughts of Teenage Mothers

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

Being a mother in a young age has a corresponding huge responsibility and it is

inevitable that several thoughts will cross the teenagers mind before, during and after their

pregnancy. A teen mom confessed, I notice that I was pregnant and I had the decision of

aborting the baby so I took some pills. Being pregnant in a young age can be decisive in the

latter psychosocial development of the teenager. With this idea in mind, it is inevitable that a

teen mom would have the idea of committing abortion.

On the contrary, one of the teenage moms have disagreed to the idea of committing

abortion. She revealed that, the thought of committing abortion never crossed my mind since I

believe that having a baby is a blessing given to us by God.

Perceptions of Teenage Mothers

Being a mother at a young age would affect teens by having high and wide perspectives

in the world. One of the participants confessed that it was difficult and emotionally painful for

her since she still wants to enjoy her days of youth. In addition, she also stated, my parents

were feeling regretful of the opportunities and chances that I wasted due to my pregnancy.

And at the same time, she also confessed that she felt regretful of the fact that she was

indebted to a huge responsibility in a young age where she can do more things when she was

still a teenager.

Feelings of Teenage Mothers

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

Considering that they are young mothers, they are still potential individuals in our

society today. With this idea in mind, we must still take their feelings into consideration. As

mentioned earlier, due to wasted chances and opportunities, not only the parents of teenagers

are feeling regretful but also the teenagers themselves are feeling regretful with what they have

done. A teen mom had confessed, I hated the baby at first but when I gave birth to it. I dont

know I just had this feeling that I started to love the kid which emphasizes the showcase of

unconditional love that a mother offers to their child. One of the respondents also confessed

that being a mother at young age is emotionally difficult and painful for her. But despite all of

this, being the mother of their children, they must stay strong hold their head up high to face

the life struggles which faced them earlier than they expected.

MORAL ASPECTS OF TEENAGE PARENTS

Attitudes of Teenage Mothers

Teenage mothers were admitted to had a change in attitude from being a mom in a

young age. One of the teen moms revealed, we should take care of ourselves not only for our

sakes but also for our child which reflects the maturity which developed among their attitudes.

In addition, she also stated; Just because we are teen moms, it doesnt mean that we will lose

our morale from it in which she also emphasized that being a teen mom made her strong

emotionally and mentally.And also, a showcase of impassive attitude was seen in one of the

teen moms in her statement, as long as no one bothered to ask me regarding the matter of my

pregnancy, then I will also not bother to tell them about it either.
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

Attitudes of Teenage Fathers

According to the teen moms, attitudes of teenage fathers vary. In a journal article

published by Burke and Liston (1994), they stated that your childs father were on of the

selected items on social support. Teenage moms have enumerated several positive and negative

attitudes of teenage fathers. A teen mother stated, My husband was forced to find a job so he

can earn income for the things that the baby needs for everyday lifeemphasizing that teenage

fathers are responsible enough to fulfill their duties to the teen mom and his child. In a

statement given by one of the participants, she said that, He accepted my past and decided to

have a good future with me which emphasizes that despite not being the biological fathers of

the child of teen moms, they are accepting them as they are and are actually envisioning of

having a good future with the teen mom and her child.

Despite of all the given positive traits, there were also negative attitudes. And among

them was a showcase of condemning attitude. One of the participants revealed that guys are

making a big deal of their virginity and are considering them as one of the easy girls out there. A

teen mom admitted that she experienced difficulty since the father of the child ran away from

his responsibility wherein she revealed, he only wants my body and not the feeling of having a

committed relationship with me depicting a despicable attitude showcased by the teen fathers

of the child. This statement was aligned to the conclusion of the study conducted by Nits,

Ketterinus and Brandt (1995) in which they emphasized that the babys father was identified as

the most frequent source of conflict.

FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE TEENAGERS TO ENGAGE IN SEXUAL ACTIVITIES

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

Teenagers are in the point of their lives where they are most vulnerable. They usually

spend their adolescent lives with most of their friends which will influence them in many ways.

A teen mom revealed that she and her friends were usually out even till late at night from

drinking sprawls and engaging to alcoholic misuse in a very young age, which determined that

peer influence was indeed one of the factors. Many factors are surrounding them which can

influence them to engage in different sexual activities which can possibly lead to teenage

pregnancy. One of the participants revealed, My parents were so busy at work that they even

tend to ignore me and the things that I dowhich signifies that children experiencing lack of

parental guidance can get themselves involved in sexual activities. One of the teenage moms

was not even aware that she was pregnant as a consequence of her getting engaged in sexual

activity, she stated; I was always bothered of the idea that I might have been pregnant since I

havent had my period of an amount of time already in which they arrived the idea that lack of

sexual education is indeed one of the decisive factors. Unexpectedly, one of the participants

revealed, My husband and I usually meet after school and there aremostly the time when I went

on my way to visit his house whenever Im bored which gave the researchers the idea that

boredom was still considered as a factor to engage in sexual activities.

WAYS TO PREVENT TEENAGE PREGNANCY

Since teenage mothers have already went through many things from being mothers in a

very young age. They were able to determine the different ways in order to prevent early

pregnancy in the case of other teenage girls. A teen mom advised, If you ask someone like me

who was a single mom, those who would attempt to involve themselves in romantic relationship

despite being a teen mom then they must make sure that they can handle the situation and its

possible consequences. They must know the limitations of their relationship and from each
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

other. And they must make sure to choose someone who will decide to stay with you in your

ups and downs. Look forward, aim high and do my very best to reach my life goals so that

when the time comes, people will have no say nor insult me regarding my past of being pregnant

in such an early age. This statement basically sums up the majority of the different suggested

ways to prevent teen pregnancy from happening.

In contrary of the different factors which influence teenagers to engage in different

sexual activities mentioned earlier. We can depict that we will only execute actions which wont

end up as those factors such as instilling proper sexual education and proper parental guidance

and the teens, as much as possible, must prevent themselves from rushing things.

Figure III: The Process Involved in Teen Pregnancy

After a close analysis, together with the existing connections and relationships of the

given themes and categories, the researchers derived in a conclusion that there is a process

involved within the themes. Within this given process, for every theme given, there is a

corresponding theme afterwards.

Initially this process would start with the factors that influence teens to engage in sexual

activities. Getting involved in sexual activities can lead to teen pregnancy where the different
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

live experiences of teen moms will appear. In these live experiences, it has its corresponding

effects in the personality and human traits that will eventually appear and will take effect on

their all-throughout performance and activity. Those given aspects will influence their way of

doing things which is highly apart from their lives back before they werent pregnant.

Proceeding to the process, identifying certain ways of preventing the different factors

from infesting were easier. After going through their experiences, the participants were able to

identify the potential ways provided as the advices and as knowledge for other teenagers to be

aware of and considered them as the things which they should have considered doing before

they got themselves involved in a situation where there is no turning back at all.

CONCLUSION

Teenagers are going through different life situations in which people are not mostly

aware of. Their experiences vary with their societal and social standing and it order to have the

realization of such experiences, this study was thereby conducted.

The researchers identified the significance of the different categories and its

relationship to the live experiences of teenage mothers. Through the obtained categories from

the deciphered codes, the themes were derived; factors that influence teens to engage in

different sexual activities, experiences of teen mothers, psychological aspects of teen mothers,

moral aspects of teen parents and preventing teen pregnancy. Upon conducting the research, it

was discovered that there was also a process involved regarding their life experiences being

teen moms. Initially starting from the factors which influences them to engage in sexual

activities which will then lead to teen pregnancy, preceding are the different life experiences

which will then theyll encounter. Their experiences will have certain effects to their being not

only of the teen moms but also for the teen fathers as well. From their experiences, they
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

identified the different ways to prevent teen pregnancy which they admitted that they

shouldve done before to prevent themselves from getting involved in such situation.

The existing literatures which was obtained through thorough research was confirmed

to be existing within the lives of the teen moms and such that the themes were then witnessed

by the participants and were known by the researchers to have been coexisting with each other.

The objectives of the researchers in conducting this study were accomplished.

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

APPENDICES
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

APPENDIX A

Direct Coding / Glossing Method for the Statements of Respondent #1

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Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers
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APPENDIX B

Direct Coding / Glossing Method in the Statements of Respondent #2

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 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

APPENDIX C

Direct Coding / Glossing Method of Respondent #3

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 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

APPENDIX D

Handwritten Statements by Respondent #2

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 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

APPENDIX E

Handwritten Statements by Respondent #3

Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers
 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

APPENDIX F

The Coding Chart

(Themes, Categories, Sub-categories, Codes)

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

REFERENCES

Meneses, J.,Saratan, C. (2015, November). Antecedents and Consequences

of Teenage Pregnancy: A Phenomenological Study. International Journal

of Medicine & Health Research 1(2).1-5

Castillo, P.G.J. (2015, January). Adult Life Situations of Filipino Women who

Experienced Teenage Childbearing: A Pseudo-Cohort Analysis

Salvador, J.T. et. al (2016, November). The Phenomenon of Teenage Pregnancy

in the Philippines

Phipps-Yonas, S. (1980, November) Teenage Pregnancy and Motherhood: A

Review of Related Literature

Bunting, L., McAuley, C. (2004, July) Research Review: Teenage Pregnancy and

Parenthood: The Role of Fathers

Harden, A., Fietcher, A. (2009, November) Teenage Pregnancy and Social

Disadvantage: Systematic Review Integrating Controlled Trials and

Qualitative Studies

Wolkind, S.N., Kruk, S. (1985, February) Teenage Pregnancy and Motherhood

Honig, A.S. (2012, February) Teen Pregnancy. International Journal of

Adolescence and Youth, Vol. 17, No. 4

Langille, D.B. (2007) Public Health: Teenage Pregnancy: Trends, Contributing

Factors and The Physicians Role

Mora-Cancino, M., Hernandez-Valencia, V. (2015, May) Teenage Pregnancy

Molina, C., Gonzalez, A. (2012) Teenage Pregnancy: Pediatric and Adolescent

Gyencology. Evidence-Based Clinical Practice., Vol. 22, pp. 302-331

 Early Pregnancy Among Teenagers

RECOMMENDATIONS

The researchers enumerated a list of suggestions as recommendations:

In order to understand the side of teen fathers as well, the researchers

suggested that a research should be conducted regarding the live

experiences of teen fathers where they can also determine the categories

and themes regarding it and at the same time identifying the relationship

and connection of each with each other.

Consider adding a number of respondents in the study to further discover

and analyze the live experiences of teen mothers since live experiences

varies depending on the situation or the societal and social status of the

teen mom and to also have additional categories and themes in the study.

Consider conducting a study having the same concept and framework but

within a wider scope or location where the availability of the respondents

is greaterin order to obtain more data and to further understand the

different situations and the aspects that teen moms went through.