Pregnancy in adolescents can be prevented

• April 26, 2024

According to the report "A General Look at Children in Mexico along its Northern Border", prepared by the Network for the Rights of Children in Mexico, in our country the number of teenage pregnancies is concentrated in the 6 entities of the northern border :

1. Baja California
2. Sonora
3. Chihuahua
4. Coahuila
5. New Lion
6. Tamaulipas

The document indicates that 7% of young women 15 and 17 years old from that border region, she has given birth to a live baby, in contrast to 6% nationwide.

It is a complex issue with many reasons to worry and that can be solved if we trust in education and awareness of the different preventive channels. In general, younger adolescents (12 to 14 years of age) are more likely to have unplanned sex and be forced to sex.

There are risk factors for a pregnant adolescent: the youngest age; economic disadvantages, low academic performance, health status or drug dependence. An adolescent must know and consider carefully and responsibly all available options to face her pregnancy and this includes abortion, adoption or raising the child with the community or family support .

Early prenatal care of a teenage mother-to-be

It is a priority issue that should be addressed through specialized programs in adolescent pregnancy to ensure the birth of healthier babies. Pregnant teenagers need specific valuation in the case that they consume tobacco, alcohol or drugs, and they should be offered support and help to stop these habits.

The possible complications of a pregnancy in adolescence have to do with higher rates of morbidity and mortality, both for the mother and for the child, due among other factors to problems of previous placenta , induced hypertension During pregnancy, premature birth , severe anemia or toxemia.

On the other hand, babies born to adolescent women are 2 to 6 times more likely to have low birth weight than those whose mothers are 20 or older. The prematurity plays the biggest role in low birth weight, but intrauterine growth retardation (inadequate growth of the fetus during pregnancy) is also an important factor.

Something else a pregnant teenager should know

Adolescent mothers are more likely than older mothers to have a second child within two years of the first. Therefore, we must encourage and help these young women, and those who have recently given birth, to continue at school or re-enter educational programs that give them the skills to be better mothers and be able to take care of their children financially and emotionally.

Do not forget that adolescent mothers are about two years behind their age group to complete their studies, are more likely to live in poverty and, if they have a history of substance abuse, are more likely to relapse in this behavior approximately at 6 months after delivery . 

Video Medicine: MISHKA (short film about teen pregnancy) (April 2024).