Not only in developing countries like India and China, but in developed nations like the United States we come across cases of teen pregnancies. Teenage mothers are susceptible to additional risk factors because their bodies are still growing! The risk factors double themselves if the teenage mothers are from developing countries. Here the socioeconomic scenario of such nations determines their health and overall wellness.
A woman, who is going to deliver a child before she reaches the age of 20, would be considered as a teen mother. It has been observed that most of the teen pregnancies in developed countries come out of the wedlock. Thus, these pregnancies lack social recognition or acceptance. Girls from the poorer sections of the society with low education levels usually become pregnant before they reach 20 years of age. Developed countries like the New Zealand and the United States register the highest rate of teen pregnancies while the level is the lowest in nations like Japan and South Korea.
Causes
An international survey has found that around 13 million children are born to women who have not crossed the age of 20. Around 90 percent of teenage pregnancy cases are found to occur in the developing countries. In rural India, the girls get married as soon as they reach adolescence. These are the cases in which the highest rates of pregnancy complications and mortalities are observed. Researches in teenage pregnancies have revealed the following causes:
- Culture: The culture of a particular nation would determine the rate of teen pregnancies. For example, in the sub-Saharan African nations, early pregnancies are considered as signs of fertility of young women. In India again, early marriage is a tradition and it leads to early pregnancies as well.
- Low education levels: Many adolescents are not aware of the outcomes of sexuality. They lack knowledge on the practices of safe sex. They are not given proper sex education by their parents or by their schools.
- Adolescence: Adolescence itself plays a part in teen pregnancies. This is the time when young minds tend to know what was previously out of their reach. This gives rise to immature sexual activities and many teen mothers have claimed that they had to get involved in sexual behavior due to pressure from their partners.
- Lack of the use of contraceptives: Many teenagers do not know the use of contraceptives. In fact, they feel embarrassed to do so! Again concerns on acne, breakthrough bleeding and weight gain keep the young women away from contraception.
- Age gaps in relationships: It has been observed that teenage pregnancies mostly occur in relationships with older men. This is due to the fact that teenage girls can easily come under the influence of matured men.
- Sexual abuse: Many of the teen pregnancies result from rape. In many cases, sexual activities take place without the consent of a partner. There are numerous cases of molestations of the adolescent girls across the globe.
- Childhood experiences: Many girls who were exposed to domestic violence and abuses in their childhood are more likely to come under bad influences at the onset of youth. A high rate of pregnancies in such women has been noted.
- Media influences: Young minds, when exposed to sexuality in the media, would try to follow the same ways!
Complications
Since almost 85 percent of these pregnancies are unplanned, these might result in serious health problems for the mother and her child as well. Let's see what are the problems and complications in teen pregnancies:
- Delay in prenatal care: A woman needs medical supervisions as soon as she conceives to ensure birth of a healthy baby. But a teen mother often fears negative reactions from her family or society and thus her medical treatment gets delayed. She fails to get advices on proper nutrition and diet and on various other medical procedures that she has to undergo from time to time.
- Lack of nutritional counseling: A teen mother's body is also in a growing state! Thus, the woman and her child would require nutrients to support the growth functions of the bodies. This counseling is very necessary to provide information on folic acid, prenatal vitamins and other dietary guidelines.
- Anemia: A teen mother whose diet lacks in Folic Acid and Vitamin B2 has the possibility of suffering from Anemia which results from the deficiency of iron in the blood. Folic Acid and Vitamin B2 support the production of red blood corpuscles.
- Low weight gain: If the diet of the teen mothers lack in vital nutrients then their babies would observe a low weight gain.
- Premature birth: Premature deliveries have often been observed in teen pregnancies.
- Use of alcohol and drugs: Teen mothers are often found with the habits of drug or alcohol consumption. These mothers stand at a greater risk of harming the health of their babies.
- Additional health problems: Premature birth brings along with it other serious health complications in the form of brain damage and other physical disabilities of the infant.
Campaigns have started worldwide to bring down the rate of teenage pregnancies. Additionally, regular health checkups and intake of proper diet would assist in bringing down the mortality rates. Teen mothers desperately need the support from their families and communities.
