It is shocking, given the possible cause of the pregnancy, but we are in a fortunate time in terms of women, pregnancy and lifespan.Originally Posted by SleepyWitch
Remember Juliet was thirteen when she was to be betrothed to Paris. Her mother had already had a child by that time. Some cultures syill retain vestiges of child marriage and betrothal.
Good God! That is shocking.
What makes you think that it's an "increasingly younger age" Sleepy? Better nutrition?
LET THERE BE LIGHT
"Love follows knowledge." – St. Catherine of Siena
My literature blog: http://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/
That's an interesting subject, actually. I went over it in one of my bio classes. Whether or not women today are actually menstruating earlier than women back in Juliette's day is up for debate because they didn't study menstruation (or any aspect of women's sexuality really) four hundred years ago. A lot of scientists think that we're gradually developing earlier these days though, because if you look at paintings and descriptions of girls hundreds of years ago they seem far less developed. This could be for a couple of reasons:
1. Diet. If you don't have the proper nutrients that you need to survive the shedding of your endometrial wall and subsequent bleeding, your body will hold off in order to save you. We eat a lot more meat now, so we have blood to spare.
2. Hormones that are found in food nowadays that weren't prevalent before. For example, estrogen indairy milk can cause early menstruation and development.
3. Endocrine disorders that are able to persist because people with health problems are taken care of better now than ever before.
4. Low levels of physical activity. Young girls used to put a lot more energy into physical strain before the industrial revolution, so they didn't have enough energy to make it through menstruation (it really tends to take a lot out of you). So, like with the poor diet thing, your body holds off.
There's probably more, I'm writing from four-year-old memory. The female menstrual and ovulation cycle is cool, it's always been my second favourite topic after neurology. It's so perfect and clock-like.
Last edited by JuniperWoolf; 02-04-2010 at 08:03 PM.
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There are also contradictions in physiology as to whether or not a female should be reproducing at that age. Yes, she's sexually mature in that she's capable of ovulating and conceiving, but in terms of her actual body structure, she's not full grown to a point that is optimal for the actual birthing process. A 13 year old girl physically does not have a large enough pelvis to allow a baby through comfortably. Birth would be substantially more difficult for her than for an older more physically mature woman. If the girl is small enough and she's carrying a large enough baby, she could break her pelvis. Not only that, but a 13 year old girl is still growing. The food she eats should be going to promote her own growth, but if she's carrying a baby, a significant portion of her energy intake is going to the baby. Between that and the fact that pregnancy suppresses your immune system, you're putting the health of the mother at risk.
While yes, a 13 year old girl is capable of getting pregnant and many did way back in the day, this is likely responsible for the significantly higher numbers of stillborn children and the death of mothers while giving birth.
I'm weary with right-angles, abbreviated daylight,
Waiting for a winter to be done.
Why do I still see you in every mirrored window,
In all that I could never overcome?
I agree, CC! Not to mention that girls (and boys) typically are not mature enough intellectually, socially, or emotionally to raise a child. Regardless how anyone tries to justify it, a child is easier to raise in a stable family environment with a mother and father who is committed in a marriage relationship. It is monumental for that to be achieved at such a young age. It is difficult to achieve at the older ages of adulthood.
Les Miserables,
Volume 1, Fifth Book, Chapter 3
Remember this, my friends: there are no such things as bad plants or bad men. There are only bad cultivators.
OP:What do you think?I've been thinking if teenagers are biologically ready and able to reproduce, why shouldn't they have children? After all, that's only natural, isn't it? If nature had meant teenagers not to get pregnant, they wouldn't be able to get pregnant in the first place.
So, what's wrong with teenage pregnancy? We often hear that teenagers should finish school and maybe study for a degree first...But given the high incidence of teenage pregnancies e.g. in the UK, isn't it time for a more flexible model of education? Wouldn't it make sense to help teenage mothers and fathers complete their education or training by making free child care available? Yeah, I can hear the good law-abiding tax-payers groaning alreadyBut in the long term, wouldn't it make more sense to support teenage parents in getting qualified and finding a job rather than forcing them to cut short their education and then stigmatizing them for being unskilled or unemployed apart from having children at a young age?
~
"It is not that I am mad; it is only that my head is different from yours.”
~
good question. I know in the 21st century girls begin to menstruate much younger than say girls in the 19th century. Is that evolution or a result of the sort of diet and lifestyle that they are exposed to? Is that a basis for pregnancy? I don't think so. We don't live in a productive society any longer which has a significant impact on the social and emotional development of teenagers also, meaning they may be less prepared in this respect to assume parental responsibility, regardless of an increase in teenage pregnancy. Children are sexualized at a much earlier age and therefore engage in sexual activity earlier, following the example of their peers.
The role of parenthood has been individualized and we are witnessing the diminshing support network of the extended family. This cannot be advantageous for teenagers in the 21st century and as child care is a lucrative business, it is a poor replacement.
Before sunlight can shine through a window, the blinds must be raised - American Proverb
I know some girls who started to menstruate when they were seven or eight ... I doubt they were ready for reproduction.
I think in some countries, China for instance, the government encourages people to give birth later in life to control the population.
I guess teenage pregnancy is fine if the people involved in it are happy, but sometimes it's a result of rashness and it ruins some people's lives.
Last edited by cl154576; 10-11-2011 at 07:30 PM.
(I cancelled my ignore list
Many adults are not prepared for parenthood, and never will be.
Someone told me that in my country, one half of people aged 24 to 34 - (something like that) live below the poverty line - were it not for their parents income. In other words, if you subtract out the financial help they get from their parents, they are in poverty. One half! Today many people who get bachelors degrees can't get the same job that people used to get with a high school education, so after college they return home to their parents. Grandparents end up raising a lot of the children today.
Really? Growing up I had a maid in my house - but my mother did everything, the maid was just for housework and on occasion looking after me when my mother couldn't - but my mother and father did everything.
My grandfather on the other hand was raised by his maid. Until the age of 14 he would only see his mother and father at dinner time, and not everyday. Except for one hour eveyrday at dinner, he was raised by his nurse. She breastfed him, took care of him when he was sick and was by his side from waking up to going to bed. This was how it was done in most aristocratic and bourgoise families of the day.
I would say that now, most children are raised by their mothers and fathers - very rarely does a maid take the place of a mother now- but that was quite common back in the day among certain classes of people. Heck, I remember my grandfather telling me that when his mother died it was more like an old family friend, a distant aquaintance had passed - but the day his nurse left was one of the most traumatic days of his life.
Last edited by Alexander III; 10-12-2011 at 03:30 PM.
I was a teenage dad. And my wife was a teenage mum. And we had some incredible support from family friends and even the government. And I can honestly say it was the best thing that could have happened to me. I am incredibly proud of our life and achievements, and the difficult times that we have come through to be where we are. I can also honestly say that my wife was a better mum at 16 than those I see at twice that age.
I would be devastated if my daughters came to me at 16 and told me they were pregnant, but of course I would offer as much support as humanly possible in that situation.
However....
How many other young mums (and dads) would be in that situation?
We are moving several generations into a society where there is a growing sense of entitlement, despite a reducing sense of responsibility. Everyone wants everything yesterday. But they don't want to think about tomorrow. (Apologies for my gross generalisation here). My wife and I both work in some of the most poverty stricken areas of the UK and being on the 'front line' is alarming. Often a child is just seen as an easy way into a council flat and a lifetime of benefits. Such a waste and saddens me so much.
So, what's wrong with teen pregnancy? I really can't answer - call me indecisive!
It can ruin lives. But it can also make them.
Yeah your right parents still need to guide their children but now a days people are change..sex are everywhere and pregnancy is anywhere..life is not really easy..but still some people use to study first before pregnant i think there are still several of them..haha
I haven't really had time to read any of the comments here, so sorry if I am repeating thoughts already expressed, but I think that from an evolutionary point of view there is nothing wrong with teenage pregnancy. If a girl is physiologically ready to bear a child then in this sense there should be nothing wrong with that. However, in a civilized society like ours, I think that a lot of teenagers lack the mental capacity to be able to raise a child acceptably. Many teens lack the intelligence and survival knowledge needed. I have known people my age, (19), who do not know the definition of a balanced diet. Or who do not realize the importance of everyday things such as brushing teeth, eating regular meals etc. If people do not have these kind of basic functional skills, then the baby will have problems. I have known parents today feeding their children mcdonalds every single day for their dinner.
If we were not a civilized society then I think peoples survival knowledge would be better and would thus enable them to raise children successfully. And if teenagers were more educated in our current society then they would be able to raise a child successfully. I know that there are full grown adults who lack the kind of knowledge I have mentioned, but I think that it is more prevalent in teenagers, because they leave school early and because they are young they don't even have much life experience to stand them in good stead.
'For sale: baby shoes, never worn'. Hemingway
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