Teenage pregnancies around the world
Key facts
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Around 16 million young girls from ages 15 to 19 and approximately 1 million young girls below the age 15 conceived an offspring each year – 95% of these births happen in low-and middle-income countries.
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The average teenage birth rate in middle-income countries is more than twice as high as that in high-income countries.
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Complications during pregnancy and labor are the second reason for death for 15-19 year-old young girls all around.
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Every year, somewhere in the range of 3 million young girls ages 15 to 19 experience unsafe premature births.
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Infants destined to juvenile moms face a considerably higher danger of dying than those born to women aged 20 to 24.
Birth rates
Teenage pregnancies in developing countries is reducing gradually, yet more than 7 million young girls under 18 years are as yet conceiving a baby every year, as indicated bt a United Nations report.
There has been a marked, although uneven, diminish in the birth rates amongst young girls since the 1990s, yet approximately 11% of all births worldwide are still to young girls from 15 to 19 years of age. Most by far of these births (95%) happen in low-and middle-income countries.
Among the nations in the Western Europe, the United Kingdom (UK) had the most noteworthy teenage conceptions and abortions rated. The rate of conception rate among those less than 18 years in the UK was 40.5 for every 1000 in 2008. This is five times higher than the rate in Netherlands, more than double the rate in Germany and double the rate in France.
The reported high school pregnancy rates in South Asian countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal and India are 35%, 21% and 21% respectively. A potential explanation for this is the way that in these countries arranged marriages are common and cultural; these high school teenage girls are relied upon to be pregnant inside of one year of marriage. Teenage pregnancies in Sri Lanka are much lower than the rate in and of these other South Asian countries stated above.
The proportion of births that happen amid pre-adulthood is around 2% in China, 18% in Latin America and the Caribbean and more than half in sub-Saharan Africa.
Half of all teenage births happen in only seven nations: Bangladesh, Brazil, The Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Nigeria and the United States
The 2014 World Health Statistics demonstrated that the average global birth rate among 15 to 19 year olds is 49 for each 1000 young ladies. Countries rates range from 1 to 299 births per 1000 teenage girls, with the most astounding rates in sub-Saharan Africa.
Adolescent pregnancy remains a noteworthy contributor to maternal and child mortality, and to the cycle of sick wellbeing and poverty.
Contexts
For some teenagers, pregnancy and childbirth are arranged and wanted, but for many they are definitely not. Adolescent pregnancies are more probable in poor, uneducated and rural communities. Only in a handful of countries is getting to be pregnant outside marriage common, but in the others, they are not. By contrast, many young girls may face social pressure to marry, and even once married, they face the pressure of having to bare children. More than 30% of teenage girls in low and middle-income countries wed before they are 18 and around 14% before they are 15 years.
Health effects
Pregnancy and childbirth confusions are the second reason for death among 15 to 19 year olds globally. On the other hand, there have been noteworthy drops in the number of deaths in all regions since 2000, most quite in South-East Asia where mortality rates tumbled from 21 to 9 for each 100 000 young girls. Nearly 3 million unsafe abortions among young girls aged 15 to 19 happen every year, adding to maternal deaths and to enduring health problems.
Early childbearing builds the dangers for both mothers and their newborns. In low-and middle-income countries, babies born to mothers under 20 years old face a 50% higher danger of being still conceived or passing on in the initial couple of weeks versus those born to mothers aged 20-29. The more youthful the mother, the greater the risk to the baby. Newborns born to adolescent mothers are also more likely to have low birth weight, with the risks of long-term effects
WHO reaction
WHO distributed guidelines in 2011 with the UN Population Fund (UNFPA) on averting early pregnancies and decreasing poor reproductive outcomes. These made suggestions for move that nations could make, with 6 principle goals:
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Reducing marriage before the age of 18
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Creating understanding and support by adolescent at risk of unintended pregnancies
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Increasing the use of contraception by adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancy
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Reducing coerced sex among adolescents
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Reducing unsafe abortion among adolescents
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Increasing use of skilled antenatal, childbirth and postnatal care among adolescents
Teenagers dropping out of school
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30% of all teenager girls who drop out of school cite pregnancy and parenthood as key reasons
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Just 40% of adolescent mothers complete secondary school and less than 2% complete school
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More than 305,000 young ladies conceived a baby across the United States in 2012, as indicated by information from the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy
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The drop out rates among pregnant high schoolers is 90% across the United States
Source
Who.int, (2015). WHO | Adolescent pregnancy. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs364/en/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2015].
Who.int, (2015). WHO | Adolescent pregnancy. [online] Available at: http://www.who.int/maternal_child_adolescent/topics/maternal/adolescent_pregnancy/en/ [Accessed 3 Dec. 2015].
