CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of Study
The number of teenagers giving birth each year is staggering. In fact more than 10% of young mothers are teenagers. Nigerian birth rate for adolescent is one of the highest in the world and the prevalence among female adolescent in Nigeria of sexually transmitted infection including HIV is climbing rapidly. In an effect to reduce her high pregnancy rate by teenagers including other problems, Nigerians developed a national reproduction health policy in the year 2000 that focuses on preventing risk sexual behaviour during adolescent (national Population Commission) Nigeria demographic and health survey 2004, Abuja Nigeria Commission 2006. To become a parent, at any given age you have the capacity of generating a life–altering experience. Irrespective of race, education and socio-economic status motherhood and fatherhood both places high demands on one’s life that were not there before the birth of a child. Indeed, becoming a parent comes with several responsibilities, and when people of school ages (students) become parents, the new responsibilities can be very over-whelming and daunting. And for teenage parents that lack the support of their own parent, this experience can be more challenging and horrifying as they crave and seek support in adult–oriented systems in which even the older parents may find rather difficult to cope.
Teenage parents or students with children, as they are usually referred to in some literature, are parents that fall within the age bracket of thirteen (13) and nineteen (19). More often, these students drop out of school due mostly to pressures they experience, which include stigmatization that is limited with early parenting; isolation from their peers; and lack of the necessary support from their family, friends, schools, social service agencies and other organizations. These factors emerge because of the cultural and normative values that teenage pregnancy tends to breach.
According to the latest statistics, Nigeria has the highest teenage birth rate in Africa and the Niger Delta region seem to be the highest in the country (Channels Television, 15th July, 2013). To find research materials on this topic, we employed two basic methods which are Education are textbooks and Internet (using the Google search). A variety of terms were used either alone or in combination, and these include teenage parents, teenage pregnancy, student parents, school–age parents, adolescent parents, school-based child care, pregnancy, student achievement, drop-outs, and graduation.
DOWNLOAD COMPLETE PROJECT MATERIALS
AWARENESS OF THE DANGERS OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY AND MOTHERHOOD AMONG TEENAGE MOTHERS IN IKA SOUTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT
