Maci (teen mom) with Bentley
Was watching the finale of Teen Moms on MTV, where this Dr Drew guy was interviewing the teen moms who were featured in the series. Issues of teen violence, couple relationships, and of course, transitions into parental responsibility were highlighted during this review episode. The responsibilities of child rearing proved daunting for these mothers whose development life spans were accelerated from angst ridden teen to responsible mother, with far reaching consequences. As the ad for the programme went: when a teen is pregnant, the whole family is affected.
Some interesting information I garnered:
1. 1 in 10 children in US are born from teenage pregnancies.
2. 1/4 of teen moms who gave birth, would go on to have another child within the next 2 years, a factor which also makes the ascent out of poverty and continuing education even more onerous.
What about Singapore's context?
1. A survey by research company TNS found that 1 in 10 teens have had unprotected sex (2009)
2. Data on teen pregnancies are not so current: Teenage births were at 952 in 2000, and dipped to 849 in 2002 (Executive summary for the committee on the Family (MCYS), but has actually increased compared to 1998.
3. Teen abortions also accounted for 13% of all abortions carried out in Singapore in 2002.
The implications?
Well, from this flimsy data (through my googling), not much of course, except that teen pregnancies may need further attention and research. I'm not gonna start the age old debate about whether abortion may be the right or wrong way to go, but support for teen moms go a long way, especially at a time where their social support system may turn volatile with regards to the social stigma attached to unwanted pregnancy here.
Me thinks that its great news that support is there for expectant teens and teen moms, who may not know what to do upon discovery of their pregnancy.
The Pregnancy Crisis Hotline is a phone line and email service that is manned by counsellors who would be able to talk to you about unexpected or difficult pregnancies.
INSPIRASI PPIS, is a wonderful agency which provides marital counselling, marital enrichment, casework and counselling services for young Muslim couples (below 21), to asses how ready they are for marriage. As shown in Teen Moms, marriage may not be the best solution for these young couples, who already have to balance their roles and responsibilities of parenthood with their developmental goals.
There are other endeavours by various organisations which look into teen sexuality issues, hence I guess parents and teens should be able to linked to them either through their school counsellor, or the nearest family service centre. I wonder what the service gaps pertaining to teen pregnancies are in Singapore though? Any thoughts?
Other helplines
BABES (by Beyond Social Services)
1800-833 6666 (Hotline)
8111-3535 (SMS Helpline)
6375-2940 (Telephone enquiries)
Pregnancy crisis service for teens that includes:
- SMS helpline
- Youth outreach
- Referrals to community resources such as medical care and crisis shelters
National Pregnancy Helpline
1800-MUM-TO-BE / 1800-6868623 (24-hour)
- Counselling for pregnancy-related problems
- Intervention in pregnancy crisis situations
- Referrals to community resources
But face it, most of us just want to find out more juicy details about Teen Moms in that MTV show, so for that, you can go HERE!
The website also has plenty of links where you can learn more about things such as teen violence (love is respect), preventing unwanted pregnancies, and issues of adoption. Quite interesting sites, worth checking.
Just for today I will adjust myself to what is, and not try to adjust everything to my own desires. I will take my "luck" as it comes.
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