Aya Basilio

Reading #1

As I read the article I learnt that there is no formal or univer-

sally accepted definition of a “high-risk” pregnancy. A pregnancy is

considered high-risk when maternal or fetal complications are

present that could affect the health or safety of either the

mother or baby. All pregnancies should be evaluated to know

whether there are or will be risk factors. Risk factors present

before pregnancy, problems in a previous pregnancy, disorders

present before pregnancy and risk factors that develop during

pregnancy can make a pregnancy high risk. Identifying a pregnancy

as high risk helps ensure that it receives extra attention and

proper care, thereby significantly decreasing maternal and neona-

tal morbidity and mortality ratesSpecialised care should be given

to women who are experiencing complications or problems during

their pregnancies including: preterm labor, pregnancy-induced hy-

pertension, bleeding, chronic hypertension, diabetes, asthma or

hyperemesis, etc. Treatment for problems in pregnancy ranges from

weekly or monthly ultrasound monitoring to complex intravenous in-

fusions and medication management in hospitals all delivered with

the utmost care.Women with chronic medical conditions, such as lu-

pus, cancer, diabetes, or arthritis, are all at risk for compli-

cated pregnancies. Also, a family history of mental retardation or

birth defects can indicate a high-risk pregnancy. Likewise, women

who have experienced miscarriages, pre-term deliveries, still-

births, or neonatal deaths need specialised care to ensure a

healthy pregnancy and birth. Cigarette smoking, alcohol abuse, and

drug abuse put mother and child at risk, but are factors which can

be controlled.

Aya Basilio

Reading #2

I chose to write on this article because it had become a very touchy sub-

ject to nearly most parents. Every parent’s greatest fear is hearing

about how their beloved little princess utters the words “I’m pregnant”,

or how their golden boy tells them about the possibility that he “might

have gotten a girl pregnant.” The prevalence of teenage pregnancy world-wide has become a cause of major concern in recent years. It is viewed as an urgent crisis as the number of teenage girls bearing children outside of marriage increases. It affects the community and society at large. Some of the risk factors that lead to teen pregnancy are participation in unsafe sexual activities, poor performance and insufficient attendance of school, substance abuse, low family income, under use of contraception, deprivation and single parent families. There are several at risk circum-stances related to teen pregnancy. These include higher dropout rates and less schooling, health and medical complications, poverty encircled life and decreased career aspirations.Child bearing is the leading cause of teen girls dropping out of high school. Less than 50% of teen mothers complete their high school educa-tion and less than 2% attend college. Some young mothers have a second child within two years which further hinders them from attaining further education; this causes them to become economically dependent; the mother and her child face a lifetime of economic, educational and health chal-lenges. Children born to teen mothers do worse in school as compared to those born to older mothers. Many of them repeat a grade, are placed in special education classes, experience milder education problems and have a lower probability of graduating from high school. These educational problems and disabilities can be attributed to the single marital status, high poverty prevalence and low level of education of the teenage moth-ers. The negative effects teen pregnancy has on perinatal results and long term morbidity has resulted in it becoming a public health issue. Teen mothers have poor prenatal care since they fail to attend their pre-natal appointments. They are at a higher risk of experiencing pregnancy complications, early marital breakdown if they are married and post natal depression. In addition, they tend to give birth to premature babies, low weight babies and babies who die in their first year of life. Further-more, their infants experience higher infant mortality and morbidity rates as compared to those born to older mothers.Teen pregnancy has several adverse effects and thus measures should be taken to reduce its prevalence. In addition, teen mothers should be pro-vided with and encouraged to pursue opportunities to further their educa-tion and careers. This will go a long way in curbing the risk factors as-sociated with teen pregnancy and in allowing them, and their children lead wholesome, productive lives.