Girls are ready to have babies at 14

[crippen]

Novelist says girls are ready to have babies at 14
Hilary Mantel, the prize-winning author, has opened up a public debate over teenage sex by claiming that girls are ready to have babies when they are 14 years-old.

By David Harrison
Published: 9:00PM GMT 27 Feb 2010
The 57-year-old novelist said that society ran on a "male timetable" which dictated that women should have babies at an older age.
"Having sex and having babies is what young women are about, and their instincts are suppressed in the interests of society's timetable," she said.
"I think it is that men's lives have set the timetable. Men reach a sort of sexual peak when you are 20, a social peak when you are 40.
"There is this breed of women for whom society's timetable is completely wrong."
Mantel, who won the Man Booker Prize last year for her novel Wolf Hall, said that society was "incredibly hypocritical" about teenage sex and teenagers having babies.
"I was perfectly capable of setting up and running a home when I was 14, and if, say, it had been ordered differently, I might have thought 'Now is the time to have a couple of children and when I am 30 I will go back and I'll get my PhD,'" she said.
"But society isn't yet ordered with that kind of flexibility," she said in an interview in today's Stella magazine.
"We were being educated well into our twenties, an age when part of us wanted to become mothers, probably little bits of all of us. Some were more driven than others."
Last night the writer's views met with a mixed response amid growing concern that Britain still has the highest teenage pregnancy rate in western Europe, despite a 10-year Government campaign to lower the figures.
Sue MacDonald, of the Royal College of Midwives, said: "Having a baby is a life-changing experience and 14-year-olds have enough to cope with just being 14.
"Girls of that age can be physically mature but not necessarily psychologically mature to cope with being a mother. It is much harder to be a parent if your own childhood is not complete."
Norman Wells, of the Family Education Trust, said: "The real issue is not the age at which women become mothers, but whether they are married to a man who is committed to supporting his wife through thick and thin.
"When a child enters the world without a stable family home and without both a mother and father, it's generally not such a happy event – and that is the situation that most teenage mothers find themselves in."
Juliet Hillier, of Brook, the sexual health charity for young people, said teenagers needed to be given "the support, education and skills" to make informed choices about relationships and pregnancy.
A spokesman for the TaxPayers' Alliance said: "Taxpayers are concerned about teenage mums, and particularly about a benefit system that offers financial incentives which encourage single motherhood."
The Department for Children, Schools and Families said the suggestion that girls should have children at 14 was "completely out of line" with Government policy.
A spokesman said: "Our strategy is to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and offer age-appropriate sex education to young people. There are no plans to lower the age of consent from 16.
"Young people should delay sex until they are ready. Teenage parents and their children are more likely to suffer health, emotional and economic problems than their peers."
However, there was support for Mantel from Dr Claire Alexander, editor of a study, Teenage Parenthood: What's the Problem?, published this month.
Dr Alexander, of the London School of Economics, said teenage pregnancy could be a force for good since many young mothers were motivated to turn their lives around to provide for their children.
"Young parenthood can make sense and be valued and can even provide an impetus for teenage mothers and fathers to strive to provide a better life for their children," she said.
Last week it emerged that the Government had failed to reach its target of halving the number of teenage pregnancies within 10 years.
The latest figures, for 2008, show that 40.4 of every 1,000 girls aged 15-17 became pregnant, a 13.3 per cent fall from the 1998 rate of 46.6.
There were more pregnancies among girls under 18 in England in 2008 than there were in 2001, and pregnancy rates among girls under 16 have been virtually unchanged for six years.
The Government promised last week to expand sex education and promote contraception, including condom vending machines in colleges and schools.
Mantel, who was born in Derbyshire, was left unable to have children after suffering from a debilitating and painful illness during her twenties.
It was eventually diagnosed as a severe form of endometriosis and the author is now patron of the Endometriosis SHE Trust.
The novelist, who was awarded a CBE in 2006, said that women should be able to choose whether to have children when they are teenagers or pursue a career and have children later in life.
"If there were some paradise for women both those models would be valid," she said.
Novelist says girls are ready to have babies at 14 - Telegraph

[good2bhappy]

In many parts of the world( non Industrial) they do
This isn't new
The question is whether they are mentaly prepared for such a life changing event

[UpTooYou]

In Sapa they are married and have had 2 kids by the time they are 14. When you have a low life expectancy, start early.

[Chairman Mao]

The way in many parts of the world. So what.

Or is the superior west the yard stick that the rest of the world must measure up to?

[Mid]

The question is whether they are mentaly prepared for such a life changing event

true that

[blackgang]

Old enough to bleed,, Old enough to butcher..

This already applies to Nigger girls

By the time they are 15 they already have two getting welfare checks.

[Mid]

some of the comments here are border line , most of us come from countries who will enforce their laws past their borders in this regard .

[the dogcatcher]

I come from Spain, age concent there is 13. Would,nt like to test that though.
And are we talking Nigger girls getting welfare cheques or girls from Manchester?

[the dogcatcher]

But it is different in different countries.
Laosy suggested I take a 15 year old as my number 2. Not for me, but it does show a difference in attitude towards many things.

[blackgang]

some of the comments here are border line , most of us come from countries who will enforce their laws past their borders in this regard

I see no borderline comments,, we are discussing different laws and attitudes about it, no one on here is advocating doing it or asking where he can do it.

I come from Spain, age concent there is 13. Would,nt like to test that though. And are we talking Nigger girls getting welfare cheques or girls from Manchester?

Seems to me that it was 13 in a couple of southern states in the US not long back, but since I think has went to 16 and the US law for tourists is 18 to the best of my knowledge.

But it is different in different countries. Laosy suggested I take a 15 year old as my number 2. Not for me, but it does show a difference in attitude towards many things.

I know that there are some that like em young, but for my likes, Young is 35 anymore,, but when I was younger I did wake up with some that I know were over 50,, coarse you know how rough some look in the mornings anyway,, but they must have bought a lot of beers the night before.

Always have liked older women,, when I was 5, my FB was 9 or 10 and she sure did show me some stuff, and I could hardly wait til I could nail one with fur on it, But about that time in life they seem to shut it down some, maybe think that the hair will wear off and not grow back.

[panama hat]

some of the comments here are border line

Borderline? You are generous

[Takeovers]

The 57-year-old novelist said that society ran on a "male timetable" which dictated that women should have babies at an older age.

I think this is not male oriented at all. It is a change that comes with the modern life, I believe. If you want to be a part of modern society you need an advanced education. So you are not ready at 14, even if your body is. If you want women put back into a role as house-maid/breeding device 14 may be the right age. I don't want this.

In many parts of the world( non Industrial) they do This isn't new The question is whether they are mentaly prepared for such a life changing event

That's the point. In non industrial societies you learn what you need mainly at home. So with her mother as a role model and teacher a girl may be ready for a mother role at 14. If I see young girls in the Philippines though I think they need to be 21 to approach adulthood with any meaning of the word.

[Takeovers]

BTW I asked my 17 year old Niece in the Philippines at what age she can go out at night without permission of her parents. Her answer was, when I am 71.

Off topic question to Panama Hat. Is your new avatar a morph of Bush and Obama? That comes to my mind if I see it but I may be wrong.

[Davis Knowlton]

I said exactly the same thing about his avatar earlier this afternoon in another post. So, we can't both be wrong......

[Smug Farang Bore]

I know girls here who had babies at 14. Two years later Somchai has pissed off for another burd, the girl is bored with looking after the sprog while all her mates are out parting.

End result is baby with muma and Lek is up a pole earning the money to pay for it.

Great system er....

[blackgang]

^^No you are not.
When I first saw it I could not make up my mind whether it was Bush Or Obama

[crippen]

Buama!

[panama hat]

Off topic question to Panama Hat. Is your new avatar a morph of Bush and Obama? That comes to my mind if I see it but I may be wrong.

I said exactly the same thing about his avatar earlier this afternoon in another post. So, we can't both be wrong......

Buama

Exactly

[November Rain]

Novelist says girls are ready to have babies at 14 Hilary Mantel, the prize-winning author, has opened up a public debate over teenage sex by claiming that girls are ready to have babies when they are 14 years-old.

The 57-year-old novelist said

Wonder if she's got a new book out and is opting for some controversy to promote it?


Can girls have babies at 14? Yes.

Do they? Yes.

Is there a historical/cultural precedent? Yes.

Should they be having babies at 14? In my opinion, no. The opportunities for girls are so much greater these days than they were historically or than they are in 3rd world countries. With education, girls can make so much more of a life for themselves than they ever could. In many cases, they can make enough money to support themselves (or far better), so reducing the need to marry the first man that shows an interest in them. They can leave the decision about having a family until later in life.

It's debatable whether in today's society a girl of 14 is mentally and emotionally fit to be a parent. I'd say in most cases, she's not, but there are always exceptions. I do think, however, it's a shame to waste the life opportunities that education and 'freedom' in her younger years give a woman.

[Aguda]

While a 14 year old girl is physically able to reproduce, I doubt that most are emotionally
ready for the resposabilities that being a parent entails. As November Rain commented
they will be missing out on a lot of their potential opportunitties. Another factor to consider is that there are health issues involved in the development of th fetus and care
given by the immature parents.

http://www.marchofdimes.com/professionals/14332_1159.asp#head2_healthrisks

What are the health risks to babies of teen mothers?
A baby born to a teenage mother is at higher risk than a baby born to an older mother for premature birth, low birthweight, other serious health problems and death.

Babies of teenage mothers are more likely to die in the first year of life than babies of women in their twenties and thirties. The risk is highest for babies of mothers under age 15. In 2005, 16.4 out of every 1,000 babies of women under age 15 died, compared to 6.8 per 1,000 for babies of women of all ages (9).

Teenage mothers are are more likely to have a low-birthweight baby. Most low-birthweght babies are born prematurely. The earlier a baby is born, the less she is likely to weigh. In 2006, 10 percent of mothers ages 15 to 19 had a low-birthweight baby, compared to 8.3 percent for mothers of all ages (2). The risk is higher for younger mothers:

• 11.7 percent of 15-year-old mothers had a low-birthweight baby in 2006; 18,403 babies were born to girls this age, with 2,153 of low birthweight (2).
• 9.5 percent of 19-year-old mothers had a low-birthweight baby in 2006; 172,999 babies were born to these women, with 16,362 of low birthweight (2).

Babies who are premature and low birthweight may have organs that are not fully developed. This can lead to breathing problems, such as respiratory distress syndrome, bleeding in the brain, vision loss and serious intestinal problems.

Very low-birthweight babies (less than 3 1/3 pounds) are more than 100 times as likely to die, and moderately low-birthweight babies (between 3 1/3 and 5½ pounds) are more than 5 times as likely to die, in their first year of life than normal-weight babies (2).

[Latindancer]

I know girls here who had babies at 14. Two years later Somchai has pissed off for another burd, the girl is bored with looking after the sprog while all her mates are out parting.

End result is baby with muma and Lek is up a pole earning the money to pay for it.

.

I agree

[khang]

While a 14 year old girl is physically able to reproduce, I doubt that most are emotionally
ready for the resposabilities that being a parent entails. As November Rain commented
they will be missing out on a lot of their potential opportunitties. Another factor to consider is that there are health issues involved in the development of th fetus and care
given by the immature parents.

Your info you place after the above quote was taken from a March of Dimes website.

The part you left out in you post is WHY there are "health issues involved with the development of the fetus." The March of Dimes site does touch on it, discussing alcohol usage, smoking , drugs and STD s, though you conveniently left it out. And the site you are citing is from the US and does have an agenda. Near the top of the page, it states: "National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy, May 5, 2010: For more information..." They cannot be considered unbiased. Thre are many such organizations in the US.

When researching such issues, I have always found the most accurate results by using university or medical sites (e.g.; .edu sites) that report factually, without agenda.

There are many such studies. Here is a quote and source from one:
“For mothers between 15 and 19, age in itself is not a risk factor, but additional risks may be associated with socioeconomic factors.”
(Makinson C (1985). "The health consequences of teenage fertility". Fam Plann Perspect 17 (3))


That being said, I do not think there is any argument that in western society, young teen parenthood can lead to destroyed life-opportunities for both males and females. In those societies, though biological maturity is reached by the mid-teens, and earlier, social maturity surely is not. (I know of no western countries in which the age of majority is less than 18.)


If I were young in the world of today (western), I would want to put off parenthood at least until I and my mate had finished college. But ironically, this plan could put us somewhat at odds with mother nature. All things being equal, the statistically healthiest babies are born to mothers UNDER 25. For instance, after 25 (25-30), the chances of having a Down's child are already 10% greater than for mothers in the 15-24 age group. Seems that mother nature had a different plan than did the west!

[the dogcatcher]

Doesn't mother nature make these descisions for us.
She is indeed much older and wiser than us.

[khang]

Though old and wise she may be, she can still be manipulated. But the price can be high for abusing the privilege.

[the dogcatcher]

I'm talking physiologically, not sociologically.
Lots of spelling mistakes as well I think.