Maturity Issues Associated With Teen Pregnancy

Teen pregnancy may not seem like something that you'll deal with -- that is, until it's your teen who is pregnant. In 2011, 329,797 babies were born to moms between the ages of 15 and 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's website. These teens are often ill-prepared and ill-equipped to deal with some of the issues that come along with pregnancy. Whether your teen is pregnant or becoming sexually active, her emotional maturity may cause poor decision-making when faced with the prospect of having a baby.

  1. Pregnancy Choices

    • Your teen has choices when it comes to her pregnancy, but she might not always make appropriate decisions. Her social circle and peer pressure, heightened emotions and even her desire for a long-term romantic relationship could cause her to make decisions that are colored by a lack of maturity. For instance, your teen could decide that she wants to keep the baby, but her motivation is hoping to sustain her romantic relationship with the baby's father. Adoption and abortion are other options that your teen can consider, notes the Planned Parenthood website.

    Necessary Health Care

    • Your teen might lack the maturity needed to make wise prenatal choices for her unborn baby. Teenage pregnancy can be risky when a teen doesn't get the prenatal care she needs to stay healthy, including monitoring her weight gain, receiving diet and exercise advice, monitoring for potential problems and making health decisions, all of which can affect issues like birth defects, low birth weight and other adverse outcomes, according to a 2006 study published in the International Journal of Epidemiology.

    Relationships and Emotions

    • While some maturity issues are directly related to the health of the fetus, your teen's lack of maturity can also affect her relationships. Pregnancy often comes with complex emotions that leave your teen feeling scared, upset and even desperate. Some teens might hide their pregnancies, fearing the disappointment of their parents, warn child development experts with the Kids Health website. Others might mourn the loss of their social standing and may even make poor health choices -- like drinking alcohol or smoking while pregnant -- to maintain social relationships. This behavior can damage relationships and put an unborn baby's health at risk.

    Pregnancy Costs

    • On one hand, a teen probably doesn't have the funds necessary to cover the costs of prenatal care, labor and delivery and checkups -- health insurance and parents can help there. But the costs associated with a lack of maturity can extend far past the six-week postnatal checkup. Teens who become pregnant are less likely to finish school, more likely to rely on public assistance in their lives and more likely to be poor as adults, warns the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services website. While a teen might be focused on the costs of prenatal care, she might not understand what getting pregnant as teen could cost her throughout her life.

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