Applauding Teen Motherhood?

Hmmm, I can't say that I agree with the author. (shock, I know)
The writer studied 11 women over the course of 17 years.
Most of the women were 17 years old when they had their first child.
She titled the article "Teen motherhood can be good thing".

The author writes, "Previous research exaggerated the difficulties teen moms face, she adds, by comparing women who gave birth in their teens with women who first became mothers in their 20s.
"That's a very unfair comparison because teen mothers tend to have lots of adverse childhood experiences and they tend to be more disadvantaged than women who wait (to) have children," SmithBattle said. Newer studies that have controlled for such factors have found teen moms actually fare as well as or even better than women from similar socioeconomic backgrounds who did not have children early, she added. "
Ya think? Teen moms may be at a disadvantage to women who wait until, let's say, after high school to reproduce? This is no surprise. Teenage girls (usually) are not meant to have children. Especially when they are still in high school! 17 year olds should be worrying about their classes, selecting a college or career path, and dealing with minor things like changing hair styles and jeans. NOT HAVING BABIES.

And did you notice how the author tries to do away with the 'unfair comparison'? It's written that if society helps "control such factors", then teen moms fare as well as others. It doesn't say anything about the baby. And it also is unjust because moms who wait don't have everyone in society trying to cushion their circumstances. It's the real world- it's life. Making it so much easier on teenage moms isn't going to help reduce the number of these situations. It will only make it seem so possible and natural.

This statement from the article also caught my attention:
"But if teen moms don't receive adequate support, they may fall prey to the factors that contributed to their becoming pregnant as teens in the first place, SmithBattle's study shows."
Fall prey to those factors that contributed to becoming pregnant in the first place? Well, yes! It takes a change of lifestyle. Support and advice can come from any angle, but it takes the person alone to change. MAYBE these mothers should realize that sex at that time isn't a good thing. Caving in to bodily desires isn't always right. Society may actually be wrong- if you deny yourself on occasion, you WILL still survive.

I know that many people that have children in this manner turn out fine. Family members of mine, coworkers, friends- they prove that. But what bothers me is that the article mentions nothing about the children themselves. The lack of two parents in the home, a mother who is constantly juggling time for herself and kids, etc. And my real-life examples shed a great deal of light on the truth in that area.