Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy is one of the most challenging things that can happen to a young woman during her teenage years. Whether she's 14 or 19 going on 20, pregnancy will still affect her immediate physical, social and emotional well-being as well as her future. It's important for a teen to have a strong support group to help her deal with these struggles and to help her reason through what she wants to do about the pregnancy.

If the teen decides to see the pregnancy to term, whether to raise it as a single parent or to place with an adoptive family, she'll need to a health care provider to guide her through pregnancy as a teen. A state social worker may be available to help with this process if the parent is not.

The younger a pregnant teen is, the more likely she is to give birth before her due date, or be diagnosed with anemia or high blood pressure during the pregnancy. Premature birth can also affect the child.

The Mayo Clinic suggests that teens get tested for sexually transmitted diseases, to stay physically active and maintain a healthy diet that includes extra amounts of nutrients required for a healthy pregnancy and to prevent anemia. A woman's weight can also affect the pregnancy and teens should consult their health care provider about healthy gain. The Mayo Clinic stresses that pregnant teens abstain from the use of alcohol and drugs because they are causes for premature birth which is already common of teen pregnancy. Teens should also try to become educated about childbirth and may want to enroll in childbirth and parenting classes.