class that the role of the father is an extremely important one in the development of a child. A child who lacks the authority and leadership of a father tends to have feelings of inadequacy and abandonment. These feeling may lead to increases in depression or acting out. A child born to a single teenage mother is more at risk for emotional problems than a child born to a mature mother. Many times teen mothers are filled with resentment towards their child because they are not able to enjoy being a teenager unhampered by the responsibility of a child. In addition, she cannot prepare her child for adulthood because she has not yet reached it herself. Besides the emotional problems, there are also physical problems for a teenage mother. A teenage mother is more at risk of pregnancy complications such as premature or prolonged labor, anemia and high blood pressure. These risks are even greater for teens who are less than 15 years old. Nine percent of teenage mothers have low-birth weight babies. Low-birth weight babies are much more likely to grow up with cognitive, emotional, and physical complications than fully developed babies. To conclude, Teenage pregnancies lead to a decrease in cognitive, social, and emotional development in children. In addition to the baby stagnating developmentally, the teenage mother is unable to continue to mature as well. ...
