Teenage Pregnancies: a Worldwide Social and Medical Problem

Teenage pregnancy is affecting many lives of young women in Honduras. This problem has causes, consequences but the important thing is that it can be prevented. According to the UN analysis, the age at which children get pregnant is between twelve and fifteen years. In addition, Honduras represents the second place in all of Latin America in numbers of pregnant minors. (Daily Time, 2017). In teenage pregnancy, some causes have been identified, family problems, education and poverty. This problem also has consequences such as: psychological problems, health problems, and social problems. It is necessary to take immediate measures to control this problem in Honduras, some preventions may be, sex education, better communication between family members.

The problem of teen pregnancy is happening to many families in Honduras and one of those families is mine. When my youngest sister was sixteen, she had her boyfriend and soon after she got pregnant, she barely finished her studies at school, but unfortunately she could not continue her dream of obtaining a university degree, she had to marry and can not find work.

Adolescence is one of the most fascinating and perhaps most complex phases of life, a time when young people assume new responsibilities and experience a new sense of independence. Young people seek their identity, learn to put into practice values learned in their early childhood and develop skills that will allow them to become attentive and responsible adults. (UNICEF, 2002). Many times this ideal and brilliant adolescence is overshadowed by bad decisions that adolescents make, or by the difficulties they may have in their lives.

It is necessary to know, what are some of the causes that are making pregnancy a problem in the youth of Honduras?

Family communication is a determining factor in the relationships that are established in the family nucleus and the relationships that will be established with others. This point can be considered one of the causes of teenage pregnancy. Is that girls have a lack of family affection or family problems, seek their own identity, show interest in the forbidden and rebel against the established, wishing to feel adults. (Márquez, 2011). Another one of the main causes is the poverty that is lived in Honduras. According to Luis Felipe López-Calva, leading WB economist for the region, he pointed out that "poverty and lack of opportunities are directly associated with adolescent pregnancy and early motherhood". These factors, he warned, "can become impediments for women to maximize their opportunities for development", mainly in the poorest countries of the region where the rate of teenage pregnancies is higher. (EFE, 2013). Honduras is a middle-low income country that faces significant challenges, with about 60.9 percent of the population living in poverty in 2016, according to official data. In rural areas, approximately one in five Hondurans lives in extreme poverty or with less than US $ 1.90 a day. (World Bank, 2018).

Education is a fundamental part of the human being, unfortunately the deficiency of education in all the rural sectors of Honduras is causing a high birth rate of children under the age of twelve years. Girls who become pregnant before the 18 years can rarely exercise their rights to education, health, protection and a level of adequate life They lose their childhood, they assume obligations of adults and do not always enjoy all its benefits. (UNICEF, 2014).

The causes mentioned above bring consequences, which affects the lives of young women in a psychological way. The Young pregnant women have low self-esteem due to their insecurity, the increase of their personal justifications, the deficiency of personal skills to solve situations conflicts including the increase of fears and of the rejection of society. Therefore, the young woman, because of her age, does not have the psychic development suitable for motherhood and pregnancy at this age is considered as a problem of a social and cultural nature. It is faced with a drastic change abruptly as a daughter to be a mother with obligations, without time and space to mature. (Vélez, 2015).

The unfortunate thing is that early pregnancy not only brings psychological consequences, it also has physical or health consequences, according to (Ulanowicz M, 2006) There is a high incidence of diseases of sexual transmission, bacterial vaginitis, more frequently by Garnerela Vaginitis, HPV. The urinary tract infection may be in responsible for the high incidence of childbirth premature, added to other entities that are cited as responsible such as own pubertal development, infectious processes to other levels like cervicovaginal that can directly or indirectly, through premature membrane rupture, preterm delivery.

Not only for the pregnant young woman there are consequences, but also for the society. Early motherhood is often associated with the increase in fertility during the reproductive life of women. This leads to a faster population growth that hinders development socioeconomic. On the other hand, family and society need to find ways to help young girls support their children, becoming an additional social burden. (Secretaria de Salud, 2002).

Fortunately this problem has some solutions and these can be:

Strengthening intra-family relationships to promote a protective environment for adolescents. This component aims to achieve, through the strengthening of the skills for dialogue, that adolescents dialogue with their parents or caregivers about their problems and concerns, and the corresponding protection measures, for the prevention of pregnancy. (Gobierno de la Republica de Honduras, 2014).

Family communication and sexual education go hand in hand, because it is in the family where you should talk and advise young people about the topic of sexuality in school, only reinforcing the topic, that's why excellent family communication is important.

According to (CDC, 2014) About 8 out of 10 adolescent girls (83%) did not receive sex education before having their first sexual relationship. Providing sex education before they start having sex can strengthen prevention efforts. More than 7 out of 10 adolescent girls (76%) talked with their parents about contraceptive methods or sexual abstinence. Parents have a very important role in helping adolescents make healthy choices about sex, sexuality and relationships. More than half of sexually active adolescents (58%) went to a reproductive health appointment in search of contraceptive services in the last year. Doctors and nurses can take this opportunity to talk about the advantages and disadvantages of different contraceptive methods and the importance of condom use in every sexual encounter.

Avoiding teenage pregnancy is a commitment that everyone must assume, parents, society, and the adolescent himself. Since many young people in Honduras are going through this situation, if we want Honduras to change. The causes are related to each other so it is necessary that youth have the opportunity to receive quality education and avoid early pregnancy. Well, there are many consequences pregnancy brings.