Possible Pregnancy Complications
It is estimated that thirty-four percent of teenage girls become pregnant before their twentieth birthday. This results in over eight-hundred thousand pregnancies a year. Motherhood is a scary concept for any teenage girl to face. Teenage pregnancy is not only hard on the teen’s body but also on their psyche. This can lead to several pregnancy complications that can cause grave side-effects to the developing child.
Pregnant teens face a high risk for suffering from several, serious complications during the duration of their pregnancy. These complications include anemia, premature labor and high blood pressure. Many of these complications occur due to stress and poor nutrition during pregnancy. Teenagers face a doubled risk of dying during pregnancy as a result of these complications. Pregnancy complications not only negatively affect the teenager but also the fetus maturing in the womb.
Anemia is a medical condition in which there is a lower than normal number of red blood cells in the blood. Usually anemia is caused from a lack of iron in a person’s diet. Iron intake can be increased by eating iron-rich foods such as meat or vegetables or by taking an iron supplement. High blood pressure can be caused by a number of factors depending on the individual’s genetic makeup and their intake of stress. A person’s blood pressure is the actual force with which the blood pushes against the walls of the arteries. The pressure is calculated when the heart is pumping blood and then when the heart is at rest. This usually occurs between heartbeats. High blood pressure is a “silent killer” as many people do not even know they have it. Teens that become pregnant are sadly at a higher risk of developing both of these medical conditions. Both of these conditions, if left untreated, can be potentially life-threatening.
Pregnant teens also face the chance of going into premature labor. The signs of premature labor include: blood discharged from the vagina, abdominal cramps, pelvic pressure that feels as if the baby is pushing down, a backache, menstrual-like cramps, watery fluid leaking from the vagina or a contraction every ten minutes. Premature labor is dangerous for the teen and the baby. If you experience any of these signs you should contact your doctor immediately.
Babies that are born to teenagers are at an elevated risk for complications. A complication that the baby might suffer from is lower birth weight. Babies born at lower birth rates face a more likely chance of dying from complications than a baby of normal birth rate. Some babies born to teenagers are premature therefore the baby might have underdeveloped organs. This can lead to severe intestinal mal-function, bleeding of the brain, respiratory problems and impaired vision.
There are risks involved with any pregnancy. Teenagers though, have an increased chance of facing one or more of these risks. Girls who are younger then twenty years of age can face very serious medical complications. These complications not only affect them but also their baby.
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