teen pregnancy

05-03-2006 09:26PM #1

Im now 20 nearly 21

and i can honestly say theres only a handful of girls i went to school with that now dont have children already.

Why are girls having kids so young??
do you think its anything to do with the way they are brought up or where they come from?
My cousin 21 had a baby as well (im godmother) and one of my nan's friends (who's daughter i went to school with is expecting soon) asked me during the week "so when are you getting started"
I nearly fell out of my standing.

Nothing wrong with it just not for me but why is it so prevalent.

aidan_walsh · 05-03-2006 09:27PM

Because they have unsafe sex. Haven't you been told how it works?

Endurance Man · 05-03-2006 09:27PM

My honest opinion, to much underage drinking coupled with horny teenage boys. Oh, and am i to believe that catholics dont believe in contraception

aidan_walsh · 05-03-2006 09:32PM

Endurance Man wrote:

My honest opinion, to much underage drinking coupled with horny teenage boys. Oh, and am i to believe that catholics dont believe in contraception

They also don't believe in sex before marriage, so its not like they're utter devouts here...

LadyJ · 05-03-2006 09:32PM

I'd like to say that it's down to lack of education but really it's just down to lack of common sense.

Hagar · 05-03-2006 09:33PM

You didn't go to St. Slappers by any chance did you?

05-03-2006 09:37PM

No, mercy in coolock
in dublin

I left in 3rd year to go to a different one but its mercy i'm talking about

ST* · 05-03-2006 09:38PM

LadyJ wrote:

I'd like to say that it's down to lack of education but really it's just down to lack of common sense.

Both tbh.

dar83 · 05-03-2006 09:46PM

coolsmileygirl wrote:

No, mercy in coolock
in dublin

A bit close to home for my liking.

I know a fair few Mercy Coolock people and only two I know of have kids (and had them while they were there).

Terry · 05-03-2006 09:50PM

out of the 30 something girls in my year, only one had a child while still in her teens. two of the guys were fathers though.
most of the people i went to school with still haven't had children. (i'm 30). in fact, there are more of them married/ in a steady relationship (ie, have bought a house with their significant other) than anything.

Nightwish · 05-03-2006 09:57PM

In my school there was always one or two every year who were pregnant.I finished school 5 years ago and since then there are about 25 - 30 girls from my year who've had kids.

Gazza22 · 05-03-2006 10:02PM

Nightwish wrote:

In my school there was always one or two every year who were pregnant.I finished school 5 years aho and since then there are about 25 - 30 girls from my year who've had kids.

Sorry nightwish, but i actually laughed at this in context of the topic....
Damn i'm bored tonite!
Ok i'll shut up now

Nightwish · 05-03-2006 10:05PM

damn I'm tired tonight. Anyway the situation with my school could be explained by its nickname - The Pregnant-nation

Gazza22 · 05-03-2006 10:10PM

Nightwish wrote:

damn I'm tired tonight. Anyway the situation with my school could be explained by its nickname - The Pregnant-nation

Ha that bad?

Well onto the topic at hand, unsafe sex and stupidity tbh if you become pregant at a young teen age. I can't imagine any young girl going out of her way to get pregnant

mags82 · 05-03-2006 10:11PM

i don't no what it is do some girls really think its cool to have kids so young ??
i finished school 6 years ago now and my class was small 19 girls in total out of the group 3 of us don't have kids :eek:

Terry · 05-03-2006 10:17PM

that's what? 83% or something?
that's pretty high.

Pythia · 05-03-2006 10:17PM

My school had about 100 per year and no one has a baby 2 years on. But my school was in leafy D6...
I'm sure some people have become pregnant, but it's been 'dealt with' if you know what I mean.

tribulus · 05-03-2006 10:21PM

only one guy i know from my school is a father

i think its combination of things, background-maybe having a young mother yourself, maybe its education, maybe its just being a complete idiot when you're drunk and not using anything. I think the factors change for every person

Setun · 05-03-2006 10:31PM

coolsmileygirl wrote:

No, mercy in coolock
in dublin

I left in 3rd year to go to a different one but its mercy i'm talking about

As above have said, mostly just idiocy and not fully understanding the responsabilities involved in bringing up a child.

Or maybe they're just looking for a few bob off the government?

:D:D
<Meyers who?>

mezzdon · 05-03-2006 10:35PM

Ok I was 17 when I fell pregnant, 18 when I had my daughter. Although I would never give my daughter up for anything and would never change anything I was far too younge and I totally agree with you. I think alot of it has to do with confidence with the girl aswell men go to bed for sex women go for love. I knew the risks involved with having unprotected sex and yet still went ahead with it. Hence her father and I did not stay together and do not even speak.
I think instead of women having an independent mind nowadays we have this idea of happy familys and crave someone to love us, when infact we should onle be craving love from ourselves. I am actually planning on going to secondary schools in the Kerry region talking about this and I think alot more should be done on this issue, so I would pleed with other younge mothers to go into their local secondary school and talk to them about speaking to the students believe me they will love you for this because there isa huge number of younge girls becomeing pregnant. Nothing makes an impact like talking face to face and showing the reality of a situation. x

rainbow kirby · 05-03-2006 10:36PM

When I was in school, 3 girls from my year had kids before Leaving Cert (one had a kid 7 weeks before her Junior Cert! :eek: ). Since I left (4 years ago) about 6 more have had kids, funnily enough it was the skangers in my year who had kids. One of the girls who had a kid in school had her second about a year ago.
And like Trib said - being the child of a young mother? My mother was 21 when I was born. I'm 21 now, and I really can't imagine having a kid for many years to come.

RoundyMooney · 05-03-2006 10:37PM

tribulus wrote:

only one guy i know from my school is a father

i think its combination of things, background-maybe having a young mother yourself, maybe its education, maybe its just being a complete idiot when you're drunk and not using anything. I think the factors change for every person

Perhaps. I don't mean to diss your opinion for a second, merely add to it, in that I think the get out clause (i.e. background and family history) that many people put forward to explain their shortcoming is pure bunkum tbh. I was born to a 17 year old single mother, who these days is more of a big sister, due to the fact that my grandparents (one since sadly deceased) did the parenting while she got on with her life. OTOH I did things more or less the "conventional" way, and didn't become a dad 'til I was 27. I think that if the generous welfare concessions weren't available to teenagers, they may choose to exercise a little more discretion. Just a thought. What is unfair, is that girls are generally blamed for this situation, when they are just the ones that have to carry the consequences. Blame evolution for that one I spose'...

AngryBadger · 05-03-2006 11:01PM

I don't know if you can really point to any single reason for this. Certainly some demographics seem to be more inclined to have kids younger, but outside of that influence, a lot of people are just irresponsible, and stupid.

Plus some people wind up pregnant for some completely different reason. For example, some people aren't mature enough to actually attent college away form home, and they wind up pregnant because they can't deal with the rpessures, so they get into relationships too deep, too early, and suddenly BAM! bun in the oven

Franky Boy · 05-03-2006 11:04PM

It really depends on the person and the timing.imo.

Shabadu · 05-03-2006 11:21PM

aidan_walsh wrote:

Because they have unsafe sex. Haven't you been told how it works?

Hey! We used a condom and still got pregnant when I was 22. Accidents happen, use two forms of contraception people.

Cosine · 05-03-2006 11:27PM

None from my year got pregnant or were fathers but one of the girls was pregnant and was getting married 3 months after getting out of secondry school. She was still 18!

Met an american two summers ago who was 22 and had 2 kids. One was 7 and the other was 5 :eek: she had been married 3 times aswell!!!

05-03-2006 11:33PM

Cosine wrote:

Met an american two summers ago who was 22 and had 2 kids. One was 7 and the other was 5 :eek: she had been married 3 times aswell!!!

I wonder if that's a result of "no sex before marriage"...

Aporia · 05-03-2006 11:38PM

A girl in my year had her baby just before the debs... imagine if she still had the bump for it.

projectmayhem · 05-03-2006 11:58PM

a guy i went to secondary school with had a kid about a year ago with his 16 year old ex. apparently now his second is on the way, with a different mother, who's also about 16-17.

he's about 20 at this stage

06-03-2006 12:06AM

I don't know why it is so rampant in Ireland, or so acceptable. Here in Spain where I am now it is extremely rare to see a teenage mother, in fact I don't think I've ever seen one, anywhere. People were shocked to hear that my cousin had a baby at 17. It is very rare to even meet unmarried parents. I don't know if the low number of teenage mothers is because they have sex later, are more responsible, or that abortion is legal and available. Probably all those factors.

Cosine · 06-03-2006 12:32AM

bluewolf wrote:

I wonder if that's a result of "no sex before marriage"...

I doubt that she had a problem with that. She was over here for 4 weeks on a summer camp thingy in my college and she told me she was only really over here for a bit of ha'rumpy bumpy :v:

teen pregnancy

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