Teen Pregnancy and Role of School Nurse

Teen Pregnancy and Role of School Nurse
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Teen Pregnancy and Role of School Nurse
Teen pregnancy has been a great challenge in the United States. The rates have been increasing gradually‚ until in 2011 where the rates were seen to decrease. This is with respect to analyses of the national and state from the Guttmacher Institute. This paper will discuss the historical perspective with regard to Teen pregnancy‚ the available statistics on abortion and pregnancy. Attitudes that teens have about pregnancy will also be clearly discussed‚ elaborating and pointing out the girls who consistently become pregnant. The role that the school nurse plays in counseling‚ confidentiality‚ follow-up and referral‚ will also be discussed.
Historical Perspective of Teenage Pregnancy
In early America‚ especially basing on high rates in California, Teenage births were viewed as part of great concerns about premarital sexual activities‚ and also‚ as out-of-wedlock births. In the 20th Century‚ the second half of it‚ the pregnancies were and still are seen as challenges that are special. Efforts like ensuring availability of sexual education‚ have been developed‚ but have not been much impactful (Schalet et al.‚ 2014).
Current statistics on Teenage Pregnancy and Abortion
According to a certain research conducted‚ Teens aged between 15-19 years, 54 out of 1000 were found to be pregnant. This number together with the unintended pregnancies caused 45% of abortions and healthy births. Others were miscarriages. In the year 2011, both cost the state around $ 1.8 billion dollars (Zuckerman, 2011).
Disparities in the decline of teenage pregnancy and abortion exist among states. This is because of availability of consistent and comprehensive sex education and extensive knowledge of contraceptive services in some states and lacking or limited in others. (Arnett, 2014).
Attitudes That Exist Among Teens about Pregnancy and Those That Becomes Pregnant
Attitudes towards pregnancy have relevance to reduction of teenage pregnancy. This is because‚ the attitude might result to consistent contraceptive use. This is an argument passed by many advocates and researchers. This is because‚ interventions which result to increased awareness of contraceptive has not reduced pregnancy risk. Many teenagers have access to the means to avoid pregnancy‚ but they are either not using them‚ or are using them inefficiently. However‚ for sexually experienced teenagers‚ attitudes towards pregnancy are less likely to reduce pregnancy risks (Dobkin et al.‚ 2013)
Those with ambivalent attitudes towards pregnan...