English 1101 Children Having Children Raising children is a difficult proposition under the best of circumstances. Unfortunately, females can become pregnant at an age when they have not yet developed the emotional and mental skills necessary to properly care for children. When teen pregnancy happens, the impact on society is felt by all. Teen pregnancy has a social, economic and health impact on society. Teen pregnancy has a social impact on society. Pregnant teenagers often lose their commitment to education, putting them at risk for drug abuse.

According to Amy Klauke, “Drug and alcohol abuse is also linked with dropping out of school. ” Nationally, only 40% of teen mothers who have a child before they turn18 ever graduate high school as compared to about 75% of young females who wait until they are 20 or 21 (Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy). Dropping out of school can create feeling of depression, according to the Partnership Editorial Staff, “Depression is a common antecedent of adolescent drug abuse…. ” Also, teen pregnancy can result in child abuse, which has harmful effects on society.

Teen mothers lack the maturity and training in basic human development skills resulting in the likelihood of them becoming abusive parents. For instance, teen mothers will tend to follow the examples of abusive child rearing set by their parents, which is not a healthy alternative. According to Sara Park Scattergood, “Essentially, too few children in our society are being prepared in any way to care for the next generation competently. The consequences could be devastating for their children” (Scattergood).

The social impact of teen pregnancy on society is the potential of teen mothers to abuse drugs and their children. Likewise, teen pregnancy has an economic impact on the society. Teen pregnancy cost large sums of money in taxes and loss tax revenues. “Teen childbearing in the United States costs taxpayers (federal, state, and local) at least $9. 1 billion,” according to a 2006 report by Saul Hoffman, Ph. D. and published by the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplaned Pregnancy).

Teen mothers are more likely to receive social benefits than non-teen mothers; therefore, teen pregnancy represents a direct cost to society in terms of the costs of health care for the child (Wallace). According to Gisela Meier, “Every year billions of state and federal dollars are spent to assist teenage mothers and their children” (Meier 39). The annual taxpayer costs associated with children born to teen mothers in Arkansas included $41 million in lost tax revenue (Smart Teens/Healthy Decisions Coalition). Furthermore, teen pregnancy causes an area’s workforce development to suffer.

A city with a high teen birth rate results in a depleted and less-educated work force. Areas with a less than desirable work force, find it harder to compete with other cities in recruiting new business to boost their economies according to Tim Sheehy, president of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. According to article, “Teen birth rate hurts economy” written by Jennifer Batog in the June 12, 2006 edition of The Business Journal of Milwaukee, “A metropolitan area’s teen birth rate is a leading indicator of [their] work force development…[and] asked about by business executives” (The Business Journal of Milwaukee).

The economic impact of teen pregnancy on society is higher taxes, lost tax revenues and poor grow potential for communities due to the negative impact on workforce development. In addition, teen pregnancy has a health impact on society. Pregnant teenagers are at a greater risk of developing health problems. According to the National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy (NCPTP), “Adolescents experience a maternal death rate 2. 5 times greater than that of mothers aged 20-24. ” Other common medical problems teen mothers experience include poor weight gain, anemia, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and cephalopelvic disproportion.

Also, first time teen mothers tend to be at greater risk for obesity and hypertension later in life (Espejo 78). Furthermore, children who are born to teenagers experience greater health risks than children born to older mothers. Some teenage mothers are more likely to forego proper prenatal care leading to birth completions such as premature birth, or a low-weight baby (Simpson 7). Low birth weight doubles the chances that a child will later be diagnosed as having dyslexia, hyperactivity, or another disability.

Also, children of teen mothers tend to receive less medical treatment than children of older mothers which can increase their health risks (Espejo 79). The health impact on society caused by teen pregnancy involves greater health risks for the teen mothers and their children. There is a social, economic and health impact on society as a result of teen pregnancy. The potential for teen mothers to abuse drugs and their children is a social impact of teen pregnancy. Higher taxes, lost tax revenues and poor economic grow potential for a community is an economic impact of teen pregnancy.

A greater health risk for teen mothers and their children is a health impact of teen pregnancy. Social, economic and health factors resulting from teenagers having babies, is shown to have a significant impact on society. ? Works Cited Partnership Editorial Staff. Teenage Depression and Drug Abuse. 9 March 2010 . Espejo, Roman. America’s Youth. Farmington Hills: Greenhaven Press, 2003. Klauke, Amy. ERIC Digests . 9 March 2010 . Massachusetts Alliance on Teen Pregnancy. The Promise Project. 8 March 2010 . Meier, Gisela. Teenage Pregnancy. New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation, 1994.

Scattergood, Sara Park. Prepare Tommorow’s Parents. January 1990. 8 March 2010 . Simpson, Carolyn. Coping with Teenage Motherhood. New York: The Rosen Publishing Group, Inc. , 1998. Smart Teens/Healthy Decisions Coalition. What are the “costs” of teen pregnancy? 8 March 2010 . The Business Journal of Milwaukee. Teen birth rate hurts economy. 12 June 2006. 8 March 2010 . The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplaned Pregnancy. Cost of Teen Childbearing. 8 March 2010 . Wallace, Sally. The Cost of Teen Births in Georgia. 8 March 2010 .