Teenage Pregnancy - What Are the Problems Associated?

Poor sex education and awareness can lead to pregnancy in the teenage years, which continues to be a problem that affects almost all countries. In fact, USA is the leader in teen pregnancy with most cases. As per records, about 35% of the girls get pregnant at least once before they reach 20 years of age.
This is a problem for the mother and for the child and is a social menace. Read on to understand a little more on how it affects both.

How it affects the mother?

1. Teenage pregnancy is a result of negligence and poor awareness in most cases. The chances of habits like smoking, alcohol abuse and drug abuse are quite high in these mothers, which have adverse effects on the fetus during pregnancy. This also means their responsibility in terms of sufficient prenatal care, nutrition, and overall care for themselves and the child would not be optimal.
2. Higher rates of maternal death: If girls who are less than 15 years of age get pregnant, the death rate is quite high. In addition, there is also poor weight gain, anemia, pregnancy-induced hypertension, STDs (sexually transmitted diseases). All these can have an effect on the child including low birth weight, vital organ malformations, congenital disorders, respiratory distress, and very high levels of infant mortality.
3. With the added responsibility of the child, the chances that the teenager would go to school after childbirth and complete education and look into employment are also reduced drastically.
4. Very often, teenage mothers also tend to remain single, as the child is usually born out-of-wedlock and is a result of negligence.
5. The chances of having children later in life is also reduced, given all the changes that she goes through early on in life.

How it affects the child?

1. As a corollary to the effects on the mother, the first effects include low birth weight, malformation of vital organs, inadequate healthcare, and even very high rates of infant mortality in the first year of life.
2. Other medical conditions like chronic respiratory problems, mental retardation, cerebral palsy, and blindness are very common.
3. There could also be developmental issues like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and other
4. Given the social circumstances in which they are born, they are more exposed to early motherhood, single parenthood, broken marriages. This affects the regular parenting care that they receive resulting in improper nutrition and healthcare.
5. Again, the poor social set-up also does not ensure sufficient education opportunities for the child. They may also get into child labor and become easy prey to neglect and abuse.
6. The chances of girls born to teenage mothers themselves becoming teenage mothers is also quite high, leading to a vicious cycle.

Most countries are trying to fight this social menace by involving families, schools, and healthcare professionals, and running social campaigns and programs. If you wish to discuss about any specific problem, you can consult a Gynaecologist.