Early pregnancy is a topic that interests us and recently the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has published a full report entitled "Maternity in childhood" that addresses teenage pregnancy.
"Maternity in childhood. Facing the challenge of teenage pregnancy" is the full title of the report prepared by the Information and External Relations Division of UNFPA, and it warns that the risks of a teenage pregnancy are strongly associated with inequalities, poverty and gender inequality.
When a girl becomes pregnant, her present and future change radically, and rarely for good. He can finish his education, his job prospects fade and his vulnerability to poverty, exclusion and dependence multiplies.
These words from the prologue introduce us to this issue that has become a global challenge, providing data such as every day, 20,000 girls under 18 give birth in developing countries; In developed countries these births occur on a much smaller scale.
Of the 13.1 million annual births of girls between 15 and 19 years worldwide, 680,000 occur in developed countries (United Nations, 2013). Among developed countries, the United States has the highest adolescent birth rate.
Among the member states of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), which includes middle-income countries, Mexico has the highest birth rate (64.2 per 1,000 births) in adolescents between 15 and 19 years old, while Switzerland has the lowest, with 4.3.
Abortions at risk are very common in teenage pregnancies: they represent almost half of all abortions. Almost all abortions at risk (98%) are performed in developing countries, where abortion is usually illegal. Even where abortion is legal, adolescents may find it difficult to access services.
Finally, the Probability that adolescents between 15 and 19 years of age die due to complications during pregnancy or childbirth They are twice as old as those of a woman in their 20s and 30s: some 70,000 girls die each year from this cause, an unacceptable figure on which it is urgent to act.
How to reduce risks of teenage pregnancy
The report makes an exhaustive analysis of adolescent pregnancy, but above all it proposes ways to reduce those unplanned pregnancies that put mothers' health at risk:
- In girls aged 10 to 14, preventive interventions must also be performed.
- Regarding child marriage, we must eliminate the marriage of children under 18, prevent violence and sexual coercion.
- We need to create multidimensional approaches, global resources for girls; keep girls healthy and safe and reaffirm their life trajectory.
- Must protect human rights to health, education, security and freedom from poverty
- Education is essential, so you have to get girls to attend school and allow them to stay longer in it.
- Involve men and boys directly, helping them to be part of the solution.
- It is essential to expand sex education and access to adolescent health services.
- Develop a successor framework for the Millennium Development Goals based on principles of human rights, equality and sustainability.
Girls who become pregnant, in general, cannot enjoy or exercise their rights and increase their health risks. On these basic issues affects the report "Maternity in childhood", which explains a sad reality and above all proposes ways of acting that States should take into consideration.
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