17 and Pregnant – What Now?

For any teenager, watching two red lines gradually show on the pregnancy test kit can be an immensely horrifying and devastating experience. Whether you are still reeling from the impact of an unplanned pregnancy, or breaking out in cold sweats at the prospect of having to tell your parents the news, no teenager should go through this highly stressful phase in their lives alone. There are a number of concerns that need to be attended to when it comes to teenage pregnancy. Teen relationship advice is very crucial in helping young expectant parents come into terms with the reality of the situation and how the pregnancy would affect their lives.

Let’s admit it, whether you are 17 or 37, an unplanned pregnancy is a major life-changing event, especially among women. For teenagers, they also have to deal with raging hormones and volatile emotions on top of everything else. More often than not, without teen relationship advice and guidance from adults, young couples everything to grow resentful of the unwanted situation they find themselves in and eventually break up, causing wrenching emotional havoc to both parties, and possibly posing serious health risks on the mother and the baby.

Coping with pregnancy as a scared and confused young parent can be overwhelming, even with the full support and encouragement by family members. In fact, according to the Centers for Disease Control, too much emotional and mental stress puts a big toll on a teen’s body, resulting to the difficulty of attaining and maintaining the proper body weight required during pregnancy. Statistics show that babies are more likely to be born prematurely and with considerably lower birth weight from teenage parents than from physically and emotionally mature mothers.

When it comes to dealing with pregnancy, teen relationship advice is important in helping you both accept and understand the full implications of the situation, as well as the available options. For unwanted pregnancies, common preferences include pursuing parenthood, giving up the baby for adoption and termination of pregnancy. There are also safe havens such as The Newborn Lifeline Network and Project Cuddle in United States and Canada offering free assistance to pregnant women in distress and in dire need of teen relationship advice and support. The struggles of pregnancy are best shared to fellow teens that are also in the same situation. Joining teen pregnancy support groups have been known to be quite helpful.

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