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Suzanna Shoop

Professor Tyler

ENG 1201

23 October 2020

How Does Becoming a Teen Mom Affect a Young Mother Over Time?

Teen pregnancy has been a subject of talk in schools and homes at varying degrees

through the years. There are concerns that arise when a teen becomes a mom and how those

concerns are addressed could have a lasting effect on the new mother. The matters that are often

discussed initially fall into the areas of emotional effects but continue into the social and physical

effects of having a child. Health and handling situations, such as a teen pregnancy, in a healthier

manner have come to the forefront in social conversation as well as in written works over the

past decade. As pointed out through research published by The Danish Center for Social Science

Research regarding the effects of becoming a teen mom, becoming a mother early in life

heightens stress and can cause not only negative outcomes socially, but may be harmful to the

teen’s overall health (Johansen et al. 1287). How does becoming a teen mom affect a young

mother over time? There are organizations, counselors, family members, even spiritual guides

that aspire to assist teen moms on their journey of mothing at a young age. Are the steps taken to

intervene in a teen mother’s life impactful as she continues to grow?

In an article titled “Social and Economic Consequences of Teenage Childbearing”

published by the National Center of Biotechnical Information, a clear line is drawn regarding the

correlation between becoming a teen parents and the eventual income earned within the teen’s

adult family (Hofferth et al.). This article was written in the late 1980’s and refers to a teen

mother and father in combination at times, rather than a teen girl alone. An article with updated
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information and terminology, which was published in November of 2019, was found in the

Journal of Marriage and Family through the Sinclair database and does speak of both parents

individually, however the majority of the focus remains on the teen mother (Johansen et. al.

1286). Having information from different generations assists in providing a well-rounded picture

of what results occur for a teen mom in the long run. One article discusses, in multiple areas, the

layout in which life typically occurs stating that “The most general sequence of schooling,

marriage and childbearing is that of completion of schooling, marriage and then childbearing”

(Hofferth et al.). A separate article also addresses typical life timing by stating that “young

parents were still catching up to other parents in their 30s”, but does not state a specific assumed

layout as to when life would traditionally occur generations ago (Johansen et al. 1286).

Both sources provide useful and factual statistics, but there is very little disagreement among the

sources that there are lasting effects socially, economically, emotionally, and physically for teen

moms.

Becoming a teen mom is often associated with images of failure, shame, and struggle in

society. This was felt deeply by Natasha Vianna, a once teen mom turned author, advocate, and

educator who wrote of her experience as found on the Sinclair database under the title “I Was

Shamed as a Teen Mom, Too” (Vianna). Natasha writes about the gossip she endured at school

beginning with the school nurse voicing the pregnancy, an attempt from her school to kick her

out, and their success at not allowing her to walk for her own high school graduation (Vianna).

These experiences happen far too often and shows that make the entire process of becoming a

teen mom seem appealing, such as Teen Mom produced by MTV, come across as a slap in the

face to teen moms who have conquered the odds and know how difficult everything that being a

real teen mom entails. Susie Kroll wrote a commentary originally published as “Teen Mom –-
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The Good, Bad, and Ugly” addressing how this reality show glossed over their initial claim of

educating young girls in order to deter teen pregnancy (Kroll). The reality show Teen Mom has

created extreme interest from the media and resulted in subsequent Teen Mom reality shows, all

of which tend to shy away from education and addressing actual concerns for teen moms in the

real world. Kroll states that “viewers got to see how these young girls learned to or didn’t learn

to cope with the seriousness of becoming a teen mom” (Kroll). Having such a serious topic that

impacts the lives of not only the teen moms, but the children of the teen moms as well as their

extended families blasted into the spotlight for ratings, downplays the real struggles that young

moms, such as Natasha Vianna, actually had to maneuver and find healthy ways to deal with her

pregnancy and the emotions, decisions, and situations that followed into becoming a productive

and loving mother.

There are clear cut effects that teen moms will experience such as their body changing in

ways they were not ready for or expecting and the inability to control the perception of those

around them, including friends and family. The American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology

discussed the issue of body image among teen moms in an article written by Susan Scutti which

brings to light the concern of lasting obesity among teen moms (Scutti). Body image is never

more a concern than it is in a girl’s teen years. Taking off weight due to an unexpected

pregnancy would, therefore, be a priority to many teen mothers. The research from this article

points out that, with teen moms from 13 to 19 years old, their chance of becoming obese as they

continue to develop is 32% higher than that of women who bear children later in life. Research

published in Denmark titled “Long-Term Consequences of Early Parenthood”, found a

correlation between a teen mother’s socioeconomic status prior to pregnancy and her health and

success in the long run (Johansen et al.). Viewing individuals who range larger in weight as less
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educated or lazy, although common, is unfounded and is, more than not, an incorrect assumption.

Understanding health at all ages is seen as important worldwide and knowing that obesity is on

the rise would be an opportunity for schools, organizations that assist teen moms, and families to

discuss the value of proper eating and exercise. Regardless of a teen mom’s family living in an

upscale neighborhood or a small apartment, being taught to value themselves and their bodies is

a benefit to more than the teen mom but can assist in improving community health overall.

Upon reviewing the sources available, finding further information regarding specific

statistics would improve the quality of a research paper. Building connections between research

published last year for The Danish Center for Social Science Research and the study published in

1987 for the National Center for Biotechnology Information in the United States creates

interesting links between teen moms, regardless of their physical location. Discovering the

information with resources that did appear as less credible still provided an avenue for advanced

research and development of the original research question. Addressing mental health is

important for anyone, especially young girls who become mothers before expecting to be in that

position, therefore finding resources with information regarding the effects of becoming a teen

mom emotionally would be helpful.

After digging into further research for this essay, I uncovered multiple additional sources

including two used for the images displayed in my research essay. Three of the additional

sources I utilized addressed mental health statistics, support, and advice for teen mothers. I was

able to find a firsthand account through a book written by a teen mom as well as a website that

provides support and education to pregnant teens and young mothers. Both sources benefitted

different areas within the research essay. Additionally, I added four sources that provided
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specific statistics that helped to backup points that are made in the essay and a source that

provided support for the counterargument within the essay.

Works Cited

Asheer, Subuhi, et al. “Engaging Pregnant and Parenting Teens: Early Challenges and Lessons

Learned from the Evaluation of Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention Approaches.” Journal of

Adolescent Health, Elsevier Inc., 2013, www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(13)00777-

5/fulltext. Accessed 09 Nov. 2020.

Brancato, Linda, and Alex Kalaf. “Fewer Teen Moms but Still a Dropout Puzzle for Schools.”

U.S. News & World Report, U.S. News & World Report, 22 Jan. 2018,

www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2018-01-22/fewer-teenage-mothers-but-

they-still-present-a-dropout-puzzle-for-schools. Accessed 08 Nov. 2020.

Corcoran, Jacqueline. “Teenage Pregnancy and Mental Health.” MDPI, Multidisciplinary Digital

Publishing Institute, 27 July 2016, www.mdpi.com/2075-4698/6/3/21/htm. Accessed 08

Nov. 2020.

Desiderio, Gina, et al. Healthy Teen Network, 30 Sept. 2019, www.healthyteennetwork.org/.

Accessed 09 Nov. 2020.

Garcia, Alise. “Postcard: Teen Pregnancy Affects Graduation Rates.” National Conference of

State Legislatures, 17 June 2013, www.ncsl.org/research/health/teen-pregnancy-affects-

graduation-rates-postcard.aspx. Accessed 09 Nov. 2020.

Hofferth, Sandra L and National Research Council (US) Panel on Adolescent Pregnancy and

Childbearing. “Social and Economic Consequences of Teenage Childbearing.” Risking the

Future: Adolescent Sexuality, Pregnancy, and Childbearing, Volume II: Working Papers

and Statistical Appendices., U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Jan. 1987,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK219229. Accessed 08 Nov. 2020.

Johansen, Eva R., et al. “Long‐Term Consequences of Early Parenthood.” Wiley Online Library,

John Wiley & Sons, Ltd, 14 Nov. 2019,

onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/jomf.12634. Accessed 10 Nov. 2020.

Kroll, Susie. “Reality Television Shows Glamorize Teen Pregnancy.” Gale in Context:

Opposing Viewpoints. Gale, a Cengage Company, 2013, https://go-gale-

com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/retrieve.do?

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Y-MOD1&prodId=OVIC&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE

%7CEJ3010862224&searchId=R1&userGroupName=dayt30401&inPS=true. Accessed 08

Nov. 2020.

Lowry, Kailyn, and Adrienne Wenner. Pride Over Pity. Post Hill Press Book, 2016. Accessed 07

Nov. 2020.

Mollborn, Stefanie, and Janet Jacobs. “‘We'll Figure a Way’: Teenage Mothers' Experiences in

Shifting Social and Economic Contexts.” Qualitative Sociology, National Center for

Biotechnology Information, 21 Dec. 2011,

www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3285430. Accessed 09 Nov. 2020.

Nall, Rachel. “Effects of Teenage Pregnancy: Mental Health.” Healthline, Healthline Media, 19

Sept. 2016, www.healthline.com/health/pregnancy/teenage-pregnancy-effects. Accessed 07

Nov. 2020.
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Reese, Diana. “The Mental Health of Teen Moms Matters.” Seleni, Seleni Maternal Mental

Health Institute, 14 Mar. 2018, www.seleni.org/advice-support/2018/3/14/the-mental-

health-of-teen-moms-matters. Accessed 07 Nov. 2020.

Richmond, Chris, et al. “Teen Mom 2.” ShareTV, 2010, sharetv.com/shows/teen_mom_2.

Accessed 09 Nov. 2020.

Scutti, Susan. “Teen Moms Suffer Long-Term Health Consequences.” Medical Daily, 23 Apr.

2013. , www.medicaldaily.com/teen-moms-suffer-long-term-health-consequences-245213.

Accessed 09 Nov. 2020.

Vianna, Natasha. “I Was Shamed as a Teen Mom, Too.” Gale in Context: Opposing Viewpoints,

Gale, a Cengage Company, 2019, https://go-gale-com.sinclair.ohionet.org/ps/retrieve.do?

tabID=Viewpoints&resultListType=RESULT_LIST&searchResultsType=MultiTab&hitC

ount=3&searchType=BasicSearchForm&currentPosition=1&docId=GALE

%7CFPPKKV844411501&docType=Viewpoint+essay&sort=Relevance&contentSegment

=ZXAY-MOD1&prodId=OVIC&pageNum=1&contentSet=GALE

%7CFPPKKV844411501&searchId=R2&userGroupName=dayt30401&inPS=true.

Accessed 06 Nov. 2020.

Webster, Katharine. “English Professor Studies Shaming of Teen Moms.” UMass Lowell, 15

Mar. 2018, www.uml.edu/news/stories/2018/vinsonqanda.aspx. Accessed 28 Oct. 2020.

Welton, Rose. “The Social Impact of Being a Teen Mom.” How to Adult, 28 Nov. 1970,

howtoadult.com/the-social-impact-of-being-a-teen-mom-9602906.html. Accessed 09 Nov.

2020.
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