It seems like the media had changed its narrative of teen pregnancy over the past decade. Once portrayed as the ultimate mistake that an adolescent girl could make, teen pregnancy today is borderline glamorized, with reality shows and YouTube channels portraying it as almost no big deal at all.

Talking about teen pregnancy is tricky. On the one hand, we don’t want to shame or demonize those who’ve accidentally found themselves pregnant as teenagers. On the other hand, it’s important to tell the truth about just what teen pregnancy entails. To help you stay safe and make good choices, here are 3 of the untold challenges of teen pregnancy for girls. We will cover the guys in a later article.

Delayed Education

Many teen girls don’t realize just how time consuming a baby is. Television shows and movies portray motherhood as simple, but there’s a reason why so many people refer to stay-at-home moms as having “the hardest job in the world.” For this reason, many girls are unable to complete their educations due to their pregnancies, which decreases their earning potential and ability to provide for their child.

Emotional Complications

Motherhood is one of the most challenging, complicated and difficult tasks that any woman can undertake. Even adult women who are in stable relationships and financially comfortable are susceptible to things like postpartum depression and emotional issues stemming from child rearing. However, an adult woman is usually adept at coping with these challenges. For an adolescent girl whose brain is still developing, it can be downright impossible to cope with motherhood in an emotionally mature way. Even if a girl chooses to give up a baby for adoption, there can be lasting psychological issues.

Financial Woes

Most people don’t realize just how expensive a child is. Even when you remove major expenses like rent and groceries, there are so many little costs, like diapers and toys, that begin to add up. Many pregnant teen girls end up living with their parents, but the burden of these new expenses can cause strife between the expectant mother and her parents.

Parenthood is something that no person should ever take lightly, but we unfortunately live in a world where people become parents without any foresight or consideration for how it will affect their lives. If you are a teenage girl, you will do yourself a great service by taking all precautions to avoid motherhood until you are older, financially stable and ideally in a solid relationship.

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