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(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- Most people believe teens who end up pregnant got that way totally by mistake and aren't pleased with the result.
Not always, report researchers who surveyed 247 pregnant adolescents between ages 12 and 19. Some girls viewed their pregnancies in a favorable light, believing having a baby would improve, rather than limit, their choices and opportunities in life. What's more, the younger the teen was when she became pregnant, the more unrealistic her views of motherhood were.
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In this study, about half of the teens who were age 18 or 19 when they got pregnant reported feeling unprepared to be a mother, compared to 42 percent of those who were 16 or 17, and just 35 percent of those younger than age 16.
What do these young mothers-to-be believe they'll get out of having a baby so soon? According to researchers, younger teens tended to cite things like being able to play alongside their child; having more time when they get older to pursue their goals because their child will be older then too; and feeling that a baby will bring them closer to their family or boyfriends.
Older teens tended to acknowledge the downsides of teen pregnancy, citing things like being too immature to raise a child, being unprepared emotionally, lacking the proper financial resources, lacking the necessary relationships with others, and not having the right housing.
The investigators hope these findings will spur public health efforts to educate both younger and older teens on the risks involved with teenage pregnancy and help them find other ways to meet some of the needs many are seeking to meet by having a baby. "Consideration of developmental, cultural and experiential differences among these teenagers will assist us to better match our intervention and prevention strategies to their ideas and needs." write the authors.
This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, who offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, go to: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/.
SOURCE: Pediatrics, 2006;118:503-510
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