So is Ignorance (besides sex) the reason so many girls have unwanted prgnancies?

Question

I thought they taught you in schools that having sex is the reason girls get pregnant? What are they teaching you?

This is in addition to some of the other questions posed today by Goddess and LazLou(? spelling)

So it all boils down to immaturity, doesn't it?
How sad is that.

Answer 1

I suspect it's the "Oh that wouldn't happen to me" mentality.

I think most people have it when they're young. Then you get older and you realize things DO happen to you when you don't engage your brain. Heck...sometimes with brain engaged, they STILL happen.

Addendum: I think one of the problems is...in school..they deliver the information as information. When I deliver the same information at home...whether it was to my daughter, her friends, or her babysitter...I was very blunt. I didn't sugarcoat it, and I made sure the girls ALL realized who was going to end up being really responsible for any babies, and ANY birth control.

Answer 2

I watched a programme on Ch. 4 a couple of months ago, which interviewed teen mothers, and loads of them thought that you can't get pregnant the first time you do it, that doing it standing up will stop a pregnancy, etc. Isn't that terrible? Also, sex education in schools isn't compulsory, so if a parent decides that they don't want their children having sex ed, they don't get it. I think the Dutch method is really good, I understand that some of the Dutch ideas can be a bit 'radical', but I believe that they start sex ed at a really early age, about 5 or 6, and they are also taught about contraception and sex within the context of a relationship, rather than just casual sex. It really seems to work, as they have one of the lowest rates of teenage pregnancies in Europe. At the end of the day, if you're taught something from an early age, its less taboo, and you're far more likely to take it on board, rather than when you get to 14, your hormones are raging, and somebody then starts going, 'Don't have sex till you're ready'.

Answer 3

I think ignorance is the last thing we need to consider.

I accept that accidents happen, and not all birth control is 100% but honestly, there is NO WAY all these "unplanned" babies were really surprises. I think there is more human error than we will admit- women forgetting to take pills but being too scared to own up afterwards if their partners are stressing, couples being drunk and not using a condom and then not mentioning it the next day out of embarrassment (especially the younger ones). And even when the couple both know how it happened, they won't always want to admit it to other people. To be honest, if I'd gotten pregnant at 17 because I'd forgotten to take a pill or something, I probbaly would have insisted I hadn't missed any- I'd be so scared of being judged by everyone and of my boyfriend being angry with me.

But also, there are a lot of reasons why a girl might want to get pregnant at a time when her boyfriend wouldn't agree to it, and some of them will be sneaky about it. I think we all know people who've had "accidental" pregnancies that make us suspicious. Sounds awful, but with the availability of reliable contraception these days, you really have to wonder.

Answer 4

I know here in Australia we have a new reason for teens to become pregnant and have babies - its called the Baby Bonus - when you have a baby you get given a form to fill in you send it to Social Security and then a few days later you get $8000 (I think thats how much it is now - it was $800 when I had mine 4 years ago) put in your bank account - some kids have even gone on TV current affairs shows saying they want to fall pregnant so they can get the money - one even had the idea that she should be paid that much monthly and that, that would be pretty cool (yep they are saying this on TV) they havent got a clue! The girl that said she thought she should constantly get the money monthly - they put her in a house for 3 days with a family that had a newborn and a toddler and made her do everything for the kids - after the 3 days she decided she would wait until she was older. Here though it seems to be for the money - they just dont realise how much kids cost to raise.

Answer 5

Some young women have a very romantic notion of motherhood. They think a baby is just a cute cuddly creature that will love them unconditionally. And there are a lot of them who feel a great need for love - they are not getting love from their families, and the men in their lives are just using them for sex, so no love there. Everybody needs love, so they create this new person to love them instead of finding a decent man who cares about them and not just getting laid. Sad, really. Especially because it doesn't work, so the babies thus produced don't feel loved and start the cycle all over again when they hit puberty.

Answer 6

Its not just young girls that have unwanted pregnancies. Females of all ages have them. Its just that younger ones tend to give the impression that getting pregnant is the only career choice open to them. What other job would you get a place to live, free prescriptions, dental treatment etc., and money to just about live on.Some of the blame should be aimed at the boys who father these babies, haven't they heard of condoms. Even if a girl says that she's on the pill, a boy should still use one.

Answer 7

no actually it doesnt cos i can tell you i have 4 kids and everyone of them was concieved while i was taking the contraceptive pill.
i did not miss any i took them everday at the same time i was just very unlucky. there is exactly 18mths to the day between all my kids so basically what happened was i got pregnant stopped taking the pill had the baby started the pill again and exactly 9mths later im pregnant again. doc say my body beamr immune to it. so no not all pregnancies are due to stupidity, or ignorance.

Answer 8

I would say the ignorance is on both partners. The man can choose to protect himself. It takes two people to make a baby and the responsibility doesn't solely rest on the girl. Plus, in the heat of the moment, I think that alot of people think that they can't get pregnant. Too horny to even consider birth control. That is what happened to me. I knew the consequences, I was educated about it. I wouldn't say I was ignorant. Just stupid for thinking it couldn't happen to me.

Answer 9

I think they should make better use of those real life baby dolls in school. Give them to boys as well as girls. Then they will know what it is really like to have a baby.

Answer 10

Is definitely not ignorance.

They know damn well what they are doing, but it's like when the time comes they forget everthing their parents and teachers ever taught them.

Like Kaia said I think it has to do with: Ooh it happened to 'Carla' but I'm not that stupid, no it won't happen to me!

Whatever