Pregnant 14-Year-Old Says Having a Child Is the Newest Fashion Among Teens
 

Saturday , February 24, 2007
http://www.foxnews.com/images/foxnews_story.gif
LONDON —
The newest fashion among schoolgirls is getting knocked up, according to one pregnant 14-year-old whose four friends are also expecting.


British teen Kizzy Neal says she's been approached for advice from other pregnant girls her age ever since she conceived, reported London's Daily Mail.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254341,00.html

I can say many crass things about this report. But the sad part is that anything said is...

Let's just say the next stat they see rise in the number of women under that age of 20 have higher rates of HIV/AIDS infections because they failed to use a condom.

The next item low birth weights due to poor pre-natal care that can increased the risk of brain damage with proper neural connections.

Then the increased rates of unavailable constructive children's activities that causes a lax in readiness for school...

Oh well.

Arg, even as a journalist, I think the Daily Mail is a...creative? newspaper. The tabloid tradition is very much alive and kicking in Britain, and this one leads the way. They're famous in media law text books...almost every major Press Complaints Commission standard is because of them. Good section on the football though!


ETA: Not to say that this isn't a very real statistic in Britain, it is. Sex ed is still very much a question mark, especially because the school system is run so very differently and with so many hands in the pot (meaning government, religious institutions of all sects, etc) . My criticism is maybe the "mountain from a molehill" from one girls comment. Statistics are good, should be played to more, but the handbag comment was run into the ground.

AKA_Monet,

From a biological standpoint, when is a human girl's body most primed to have kids?

I have heard cases of 4 year olds getting pregnant. As far as bring the baby to "partuition" [sp?], that is a different story.

But from all that I have read, most human females start their ovulation/menstruation between the ages of 10-14 years old. Some start later. So anytime at those ages, if the girl has sexual intercourse with a human male, then she can be impregnanted.

The issue is extremely young girls becoming pregnant in modern times is increased risk of STI's and HIV/AIDS. Also a lack of experience is child rearing. Moreover, available childcare because when is the last time you priced out diapers? They are pricey--even at Walmart...

I'm not sure, but I read somewhere that it was like 18-25 years old.

Sadly, I'm past my prime. Maybe I should be put out to pasture.:p

It wasn't directed toward me, but I was interested in finding out, so here you go:
http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/Dumm...e/id-1858.html

Calculating your fertility odds at different ages
For women, optimum fertility occurs when you're about 18 years old. It stays pretty constant in the early part of your 20s and then begins a gradual downward turn. By the time you turn 35, the process has accelerated. When you hit 40, the slide becomes even more dramatic; 33 percent of women over 35 have some difficulty getting pregnant, and 66 percent of women over 40 have infertility issues.

Men have it a little easier (don't they always?). Their peak fertility generally remains constant throughout their 30s. It does begin to decline over time, but at a slower pace than their female counterparts. Recent studies, however, do show a rise in chromosomal abnormalities in men over 35, and by age 50, most men show a 33 percent decrease in thenumber of sperm produced. So although their problems may be less obvious when it comes to conceiving, the effects of age may play a significant role down the road.

http://news.independent.co.uk/world/...cle1930092.ece
The "biologically optimal" time for childbearing is 20 to 35.

At 14 my priorities were: watching my favorite TV shows (Clarissa explains it all, Full House, Step by Step, and Captain Planet), buying and wearing make-up, listening to the radio/watching music videos, and excelling in school. OK, so I had a late puberty and may not be the best gauge.

I have heard of teens considering this trendy before. I have seen middle schoolers get pregnant- and my friend who is a media specialist at a middle school does mention many of them bragging about how they are mature enough to be active, yet not realizing the consequences.

Many high school girls do choose to get pregnant on purpose- or at least to keep the baby even if the pregnancy was not planned- because they want someone to love. They feel lonely and want someone to give them attention.

Scariest part is, many of these teenagers are getting impregnated by older guys. A friend of mine knew someone who got pregnant and gave birth at age 15- the baby's father was 21.

For the men, now that they have "Vitamin V", they never have to worry about loss of fertility. Loss of intelligent kids is another issue or biologically successful breeding...

For women, I know plenty of cases where girls are getting pregnant at age 12... The life of child my not be biologically successful, i.e. knowing when to feed the child based on their cries. But the physical process of having children is not impaired in those girls under 18 years old.

It is start of ovulation that influences fertility.

I've read in several places that teenage pregnancy is actually declining.

However the girls on Maury who are like I WANT A BABY SO I CAN DRESS HIM IN CUTE CLOTHES AND I'LL PROSTITUTE TO GET ONE!!! freak me out.

Case in point:

http://www.youtube.com/v/RARokyU6rIQ

uhhh
 

4 year olds? Do you mean 14 year olds? 4 year olds don't get their period, so they cannot have a baby. 4 year old bodies haven't produced any of the hormones to start puberty...not till about 7 y/o. then puberty comes a few years later. 4 year olds do, unfortunately, are victims of sexual abuse. they can get STIs, but cannot produce a baby. I would like to see a study where 4 year olds have ovulated and produced an embryo.

However, I think you make really great points about adolescent sexuality in general. I just saw this movie, called "Thirteen" it's really disturbing, but excellent. Anyone interested in adolescent sexuality, substance abuse should see it. Especially if you're an educator.

As far as getting pregnant at age 4, I'm not sure. What I am sure of is that girls even younger have gotten their periods.

Many? What's "many"?

Hmm
 

AKA Monet is actually correct in saying 4. I believe the earliest recorded pregnancy was with a girl around that age, obviously with some genetic abnormality which induced early sexual development.

If I'm not mistaken, the youngest girl that actually gave birth to a baby without miscarrying was 8. Again, due to some kind of early development issue.

I'll post the links to the stories when I have more time, but I'm sure a quick Google search would provide this information for you.

I had a 7th grader (just turned 13) get pregnant last year. Her twin sister then went and got pregnant because "Then our babies can grow up like sisters!"

This year, they show off the pictures of the babies. The other girls are saying: "Oh, they are so cute! I want to have a baby, too!" :rolleyes:

It happens.

4 year old pregnancy
 

It's not the NE Journal of Medicine, but hey. Check this link out! I wouldn't have believed it. Poor little girl :mad:

Having a baby is a fashion statement? WTF? Sorry, but right now (for personal reasons) this statement pisses me off!


Where were the parents in all this. I can tell you, I was too scared of my mom to even THINK about getting knocked up as a teen.

Chavs+Daily Mail=WTF. Bad sources all around. Besides, having a baby is a requirement of being a female chav. That and the burberry hat.

Pregnancy before menstration.

As much as I ususally loathe .org medical info sites, this one talks about getting pregnant before menstration, which is possible, also.

Ummm, yeah they also forget children cost money and they need 2 WORKING parents.

As a child of a single mother, I'm just going to ignore the "need 2 working parents" comment or else I might blow up.

As far as little girls getting pregnant, (http://www.snopes.com/pregnant/medina.asp), the youngest mother ever recorded was a 5-year-old Peruvian girl.

:-/

I didn't mean that as a slight to single parents. In this society, life is designed to be easier for a two parent family.

I was quite surprised to know that some fast foods like hot dogs actually sets puberty earlier. Don't know how true is this link, but I read somewhere in another article that says similar things about the effect of eating fast food.

http://www.alkalizeforhealth.net/earlymenarchy.htm

Nonetheless, it's such a scary thought that kids think of having babies are cool. Seriously, I think it's time for toy companies to develop better baby dolls that can talk, eat and s***.

The only time I can ever think about kids have kids...is that if they are too darn rich...but still, I won't even think about having kids at my age :eek: let alone 14.

Abortion was the fad at my middle school and teen clique pregnancies (girls in the same crew planning their pregnancies at the same time) were the fad at my high school. We're talking '88-'95 so nothing here is new or shocking.

The article is from London so this may be something new for them. As someone stated, teen pregnancy is no longer the "epidemic" that it once was in the U.S.

Also, it's "new" when people start talking about middle class whites and not the lower class whites, blacks, and Hispanics that people "expect" this type of thing from.

yup
 

You don't have to blow up. Such comments aren't personal. They are societal and based on generalizations. Particularly when we look at the connection between over 50% single parenthood in a certain community and the disproportionately high rates of poverty in these communities (based on the feminization of poverty and the fact that the largest percentage of people in poverty are children).

If your family doesn't fit the generalization, good for your family but that doesn't negate the millions of families that it does pertain to.

Oh, okay, that's fine. I definitely agree that its usually financially easier with a two-parent household.

CRAAAAZY
 

I agree, having been raised in a single parent home myself...why intentionally put your self in that position!!

And as far as this being considered the new FASHION among teens, I will reserve my comments on that all together!!

when i was in labor with my first child(at age 30), there was all sorts of screaming going on down the hall-"make it stop....i don't want to have this baby anymore.....etc". when my physician came in to check on me, i asked him what all the fracus was. he said,"just another baby, having a baby. if they only realized what they were getting themselves into when they became sexually active. now that she is in labor, she doesn't want to give birth. she is 14" i could hear the nurse saying," it's going to come whether you want it to or not, you need to just suck it up and do what we are telling you to do." they were not being cruel-this girl had been carrying on like this for at least an hour.

i gathered at the time that she needed to push, and she was not pushing, but was pitching a fit.

maybe if they took impressionable young girls into the labor and delivery rooms, they might prevent a few pregnancies.

teenagers see celebrities having babies out of wedlock, and think that it is the fashionable thing to do. they do not understand that these celebrity women have boucoup bucks and can hire nannies and nurses to care for the baby, run errands, cook, clean and answer the phone. celebs can hire trainers and nutritionists to help them get their prepregnancy body back. girls are being presented an unrealistic example of how a tiny minority can afford to have a baby and still live the life they did pre-baby.

Gilmore Girls
 

Awhile ago, while I was recovering from surgery, I was watching one of the the day time "talk" shows. There was a rather young "lady" who among other things said that see wanted a baby early in her life so that they would be able to go partying together.......:confused: :( :eek:

mmm...no. Not new. I told my mother about this article and she rolled her eyes and said "like they invented it."
Teen pregnancy rates in the UK are very high. It's worth pointing out the source of this article again...the Daily Mail. A fine, upstanding tabloid that no one in their right mind respects.

I don't know what reputable UK sources are. :)

The question I thought you were going to answer is how "old" is this epidemic in the UK? Your mother's comment doesn't answer that for me and neither does the fact that their pregnancy rates are very high.

I think half, if not 75% of the girls who are deliberately getting pregnant under the age of 18 are doing it because 1) they want to be loved by something, although a baby has absolutely NO WAY of showing you it's "love" 2) they think it's cool to be pregnant. 3) they assume that mommy and daddy will just "take care" and "help out financially" and "let me still be a teenager" (which don't get me wrong most parents probably do my coworker is a perfect case in point.

I love watching Maury when these girls come on. They just think that having a baby will be so much "fun" and that the baby will just [i]instantanously{/i] love them. Then of course they get a major reality check when 1) the boot camp dude yells at them and 2) they are stuck with babie, all under the age of 1, for 24 hours and they haven't got any idea how to even change a diaper. Too bad we can't do that all the time for stupid 14 year olds who want to get pregnant and rely on the rest of society to take care of their "lovely" child. :rolleyes:

Also they seem to miss the fact that babies don't remain babies. They can't look ahead and see that after a year and some change they'll be running around after toddlers, and at 30 years old they'll be raising teenagers.

LOL!:D Yes, I love it!!