1.By: Kathryn Waller CIS 100

2. CultureBoth positive and negative focus gets put on teen motherhood in America. In most cultures, teen motherhood is portrayed as negative.In America that idea of a teenage pregnant mother is looked down onbecause of their inability to nurture their child. 3. Negative facts D: It affects education - only a third of teen mothersearn their high school diploma. And only 1.5% havea college degree by age 30. About 750,000 teens get pregnant in the UnitedStates each year. Nevada has the highest teen birthrate; 113 out of every 1,000 teens will get pregnant. A sexually active teen who does not usecontraceptives has a 90% chance of becomingpregnant within a year. 4. Positive Facts :D The negative aspects of teen pregnancy are certainlynumerous. A great deal of information is availableon the difficulties faced by teen mothers. It isimportant to note that it is the motherhood aspectthat is difficult for teens as opposed to the actualpregnancy. Age is only one consideration when apregnancy occurs. In fact, from a health perspective,there are many positive things about teen pregnancythat often go ignored. 5. Positive Facts :D As long as a pregnant teen has regular qualityprenatal care, her age is rarely an issue in terms ofpregnancy. Teens are less likely to have pre-existing medicalconditions that increase the risk of pregnancy, andsubsequently they experience fewer complicationsfrom the pregnancy and birth itself. Teens have more energy than older women andthere for rebound from postpartum symptomseasier. 6. My interviews The three young women that I haveinterviewed were all teen mothers. All three have volunteered theirtime to shine the light on teen motherhood.They will have their children withthem. 7. The interview Questions 1. How old were you when you found out you were pregnant?2. What did you think once you found out you were firstpregnant?3. How did you tell your parents and significant other?4. Did you ever consider of any alternatives of keeping yourchild?5. Describe the feeling you had when you went into labor.6. When your child was born, what were you first thoughts andemotions?7. Why did you choose a hospital birth?8. Describe your parenting style.9. Tell us about your child now. (age, interests, etc)10. If you could tell a teenager one thing about motherhood,what would it be?11. Do you regret becoming pregnant as a teenager? 8. Lacey Kelley Lacey is an 18 year old teen mother of her son,Xavier N. Turley. Xavier is 10 months old. Lacey proves that a teen mother can go to school andraise her son. Lacey goes to college and raises her son with herfianc. Lacey was 17 and in high school when she found outshe was pregnant. Lacey, in my opinion, is a great mother. :] 9. Laceys Interview :DSeventeen going on eighteen.-I was kind of blank about it all. I guess in a state of shock, I guess you could say? Im pretty positive my boyfriend(Andrew)was more emotional about it than I was. It eventually hit me right before I had my son though. -Well, my mom kind of figured I was because she was keeping track of my periods anyway. Shes the one who bought thetwo pregnancy tests revealing the answer to my 3 months of skipped periods. -No, not really. I mean, they crossed my mind, but not crossed my mind in any way of approval. My boyfriend and I wereboth against abortion right off the bat. It wasnt for us. Then there was adoption, and I felt like I couldnt carry a growing,living, breathing baby inside me for 9 months without getting attached. He was definitely ours. -Well, I went from dilated to 6 to 10 in the matter of minutes. They broke my water, and thats what got the ball rolling. Afterthat occurred a few nurses rushed in and told me I was going to have to start pushing. A million emotions raced through mymind. I was nervous, scared, worried, and most importantly, anxious. I wanted so badly to see the boy I had grown insideme for that long period of time. -Oh. My. Gosh. It was thee best feeling in the world. It was like falling in love over again times three. I just wanted to holdhim for hours, but from all the tears welled up in my eyes I could barely see the newest addition to my little family. -I thought of other options, but the hospital has the best environment for a newborn. You had nurses, and doctorssurrounding you. People whom specialized in this sort of thing, and that had been doing it for years. They also taught themother and/or father how to properly care for the newborn as well. Its just a much safer place to be in case of emergency,such as a c-section or the baby being born a preemie.-Im not too strict with my son. I do sterilized everything he eats or drinks from. I like to keep him healthy and clean. If hegets sick Im almost immediately worrying and rushing to the doctor. I mean, other than that I dont think I can really saymuch. My son is only 9 months old. He cant walk or talk so I cant discipline him. -He is a growing, healthy, baby boy. Hes 25lbs, 29inches, sitting, attempting crawling, says "mama", has 4 teeth while 3others are cutting through. He loves eating. Pears, and apples and blueberries are his favorite baby foods. -Its hard, really hard. You may think its all fine and dandy just because you see your "teen mom" friends post pictures onfacebook. Yes, motherhood has its perks, but in all seriousness, its a difficult task to accomplish. Especially if youre notwilling, determined, and have plenty of patience. Youll lose most or all of your so-called "friends". Everythings so different.Youve got to woman-up, and take responsibility for you and your son and/or daughter. -No, actually. I do think I couldve waited, but things happen. I cant change the past. Accept everything, and move on. Myson has also made me realize so many things, and become a better person overall. I wouldnt give up my little chunkymonkey for the world.