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2nd journalism assigment, honest opinions plz, i know its controvertial but i didnt pick the subject. prt 1 TEENAGE MOTHERS ON A RISE By Aimee Davis In recent years, the number of teenage mothers has hit a record high not just in Australia but all over the world. Studies have shown that the United States and New Zealand have the largest number of teen pregnancies and births in the world, while Japan and South Korea have the lowest. It is estimated that annually 13.1 million women under the age of 20 give birth, with more than 90% of these births occurring in developing countries. In Australia, The birth rates to teen mothers alone are around 19 live births for every 1, 000th teenager, coming in 6th among OECD countries for teenage pregnancy. A recent report published in the Medical Journal of Australia highlights a frightening compilation of statistics on the nation's teenagers and the results of their risky sexual behavior. Dr Henrietta Williams, the senior medical officer with Family Planning Victoria says that “We do a lot better than countries such as the States with regards to the numbers of unplanned pregnancies and the numbers of sexually transmitted infections in young people, But we don't do nearly as well as countries such as Holland, who have managed to reduce the number of unplanned pregnancies amongst teenagers dramatically in the last ten to fifteen years”. The reason for such trends, especially with the current global financial crisis is that having a baby young provides the mother with the stability required to go back to school, quit drugs and alcohol and get a job, with some Queensland schools even devising special programs for young mothers to complete their education. Professor Julie Quinlivan says that studies have shown that disadvantaged teens that fell pregnant often had better life outcomes then those who did not. She said that these girls also help save the economy money, as pregnancy helped them engaged in more services which helped them develop a more focused plan for the future. It may be controversial but from a societal or evolutionary point of view, these young women might just be doing the right thing for themselves Prof. Quinlivan says. It is an extremely common misconception that all teen mothers are likely to become bad mothers; however this is not the case; more often than not it is the socio-economic status of the parents that determine this. Professor Quinlivan says that it isn’t the age of the mother that matters, but rather the adverse social area that she originates from. “People look down on me for having a baby so young. They think that I can’t do as good of a job as someone twice my age, that I can’t afford to keep my child or that I won’t be able to take care of her. It’s hard to explain how I feel about the way these people judge me” says Amy Boneham, 19. She fell pregnant with her daughter Sienna when she was just 16. She says that having her daughter has changed her life and given her something more than parties and alcohol to think about. She runs a successful business from home to help pay the living expenses involved with having a child. “All up, I only spend about $140 dollars a week on Si Including The fee’s for kindy so it isn’t too hard on my budget” In recent times, it has become commonplace for young mothers and their partners to live at one of the couples parents’ houses while trying to find their feet, with it being widely accepted that the father will work to support the mother and child while she takes care of the baby. Christy Bennett, 16 says that while she doesn’t find it stressful juggling a baby with bills and living expenses she still likes to stay informed of the current economic situation. “My partner works, and we live with my parents for now so I have all the financial and emotional support I can get. My mother is great, she helps me out alot” Although her and her boyfriend Gene didn’t plan the birth plan the birth of their daughter, Sophia they say they couldn’t be happier. “Before Sophia my life was boring and I didn’t know what I wanted to do with my life, but now I have direction” Christie says. “I would love to get into reception when Sophia gets older”. The Australian government recently introduced a family income test, to determine the eligibility of the mothers in accordance with their taxable income within the first 6 months of birth for families with children born on the 1st of January onwards, with it only being available to families that have earnt under $75, 000 in this period. If the family is found eligible and the mother and/or father are under 18, then baby bonus is then payed in 13 installments, over 6 months. With the Governments new baby bonus scheme for parents under 18 it has become increasingly easy to provide for the child and to make sure that they always have appropriate food, clothes and living quarters. Danielle Graham, 17 says that the installments of $380 a fortnight instead of the previous lump sum payment takes a lot of stress off her and her partner Aaron as the payments last longer and get used more efficiently. Danielle says that these installments combined with Centrelinks parenting payments are enough to support her family for now, as her partner is currently looking for work. Although their family was semi-planned they did not expect to fall pregnant as soon as they did. “It’s really hard to take care of my son, especially with Aaron having no job. I don’t particularly pay attention to the economy but I’m certainly feeling it. Luckily we have just been approved for a Government funded house, so it will be good to have that security. I don’t know how we would cope without out parenting payments and the baby bonus”. While it can be stressful to the parents that they do not have the convenience of being able to buy all of their child’s more expensive necessiticities

Public Comments

1. I like your essay, it reads like a newspaper article, and I'll assume that's the direction your heading. I think I would change title - Teenage pregnancy on THE rise! And wait a minute - too many of these young women "fell" pregnant - you're using that term, as if - they "fell" ill from a virus, or fell in love? Pregnancy is avoidable, if you know what your doing.