Investigation of Teenage Pregnancy and its Effects among Female Secondary School Students

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy remains a prevalent concern, particularly among young females facing educational and economic disadvantages. This can be attributed to factors such as illiteracy, societal practices, and poverty encouraging girls to enter into sexual relationships at an early age. In Nigeria, more than 23% of females aged between 15-19 years are bearing children. In Nigeria, as in numerous other countries, there is a noticeable increase in teenage sexual activity. The case of underage girls, usually between the ages of thirteen to nineteen years, becoming pregnant is a serious problem that has eaten deep into the fabric of our societies, inhibiting growth in this contemporary period. This study focused on the menace of this act among the teenagers in our society, using a descriptive method to identify basic factors and their effects using primary data. Some of the root causes identified are poverty, peer pressure and media influence while the effects include school drop-out, inadequate care for the child born by teenage mother, health problems and a host of other vices. The study suggested adequate parental care, eradication of street hawking, and inculcation of moral values through religious bodies as ways of reducing teenage pregnancy in Nigeria.