Pregnant Adolescent : Is there sense in contraceptives use on young girls?

How easy would it be to discuss sexuality issues with teenage girls to prevent them from getting unwanted pregnancies? Or does it make sense administering family planning methods on sexually active young girls? Adewale Oshodi discusses these with health professionals as the world celebrates the 2013 United Nations’ World Population Day, which focuses on adolescent pregnancy.
It is no longer news that over seven billion people now live on the planet, with Nigeria’s population being around 170million. The economic and social implication of this is enormous. Apart from the fact that there will be more mouths to feed, there will also be a strain on social infrastructures.
More people will need healthcare services, more children will be enrolled in schools; more people will need housing, while more people will ply the roads, leading to an increase in traffic congestions on the roads. It is as a result of this that the United Nations (UN) has been at the fore-front of championing the need to curb population explosion, and that is why it made July 11 every year as the World Population Day, in order to create awareness on the need to bring population boom under control.
For this year, the United Nations is focusing on adolescent pregnancies. It is estimated that about 16 million girls under age 18 give birth each year. Another 3.2 million undergo unsafe abortions in order to keep their pregnancies a secret.
But, there are many reasons why young girls, apart from those who are married as a result of religious and cultural beliefs, get unwanted pregnancies. Most of the girls usually want to try out sex, without protecting themselves.
However, adolescent girls, like their male counterparts, are the future of any country, and they need to be guided in the right direction. Getting pregnant could, therefore, derail their future aspirations.
While it could be difficult to stop these girls from trying out sex by monitoring their movements, parents could actually introduce to them family planning, one of the strategies being employed by the United Nations to prevent unwanted pregnancies, and this could also go a long way in saving the lives of girls who usually attempt abortions after becoming pregnant.
This view is supported by the Oyo State Team Leader of the Nigerian Urban Reproductive Health Initiative (NURHI), Mrs Stella Akinso. NURHI, an organisation being backed by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, uses family planning strategies to prevent unwanted pregnancies, maternal and child mortalities, while also aiding the economic and social welfare of families.
While speaking on this year’s World Population Day theme, Pregnant Adolescent , Mrs Akinso admitted that the rate at which young girls are getting pregnant in the country today is so high, and it is high time something was done to curb the trend.
“While parental neglect cannot by totally ruled out, we must not forget that today’s children are so crafty, and when they set their minds to do something, they would definitely achieve such. So some of these children try out sex and in the process, they get pregnant.
“There are others who are taken advantage of by older men, and it should surprise no one that there are many 12-year-olds who are now mothers,” Mrs Akinso said, while admitting that family planning is one of the ways through which such pregnancies could be curbed.
“For the teenage girl who has the awareness that trying out sex could result in pregnancy, insisting on her partner using the condom would help prevent unwanted pregnancy.
Even, for those who are taken advantage of, Mrs Akinso said if they had been lectured about family planning, and had been using one of the different methods of the initiative, then no matter how bad it is, they won’t get pregnant, which is the biggest problem in this situation.
“Most people feel family planning is only for married people; even some literate people also have this erroneous view, but family planning is for everyone. Apart from the fact that it helps control unwanted pregnancies, it can also help prevent the contraction of sexually transmitted diseases,” the Oyo NURHI boss said, while charging parents to educate their children about sexuality issues.
Her views were also corroborated by Dr Monday Famakin, the national vice president of the Family Planning Providers Network (FPPN), who also lamented the rise in the number of baby mothers in the country.
“If we are talking about a teenage girl being sexually active, then what prevents us from administering family planning methods on her to prevent unwanted pregnancy?,” Dr Famakin asked.
“We should, therefore, enlighten more parents not to see their children as being too young to know about sexuality issues because what parents are not telling them, they are learning from other sources,” Dr Famakin said.

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Status Pregnant Adolescent Around the World

About 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 years and two million girls under the age of 15 give birth every year. Worldwide, one in five girls has given birth by the age of 18. In the poorest regions of the world, this figure rises to over one in three girls.
Almost all adolescent births – about 95% – occur in low- and middle-income countries. Within countries, adolescent births are more likely to occur among poor, less educated and rural populations.
The causes:
Several factors contribute to adolescent births.
In many societies, girls may be under pressure to marry and bear children early, or they may have limited educational and employment prospects.
In low- and middle-income countries, over 30% of girls marry before they are 18 years of age; around 14% before the age of 15. Moreover, married adolescents are likely to become pregnant and give birth in accordance with social norms. Education, on the other hand, is a major protective factor for early pregnancy: the more years of schooling, the fewer early pregnancies. Birth rates among women with low education are higher than for those with secondary or tertiary education.
Some adolescents do not know how to avoid becoming pregnant, or are unable to obtain contraceptives. However, even where contraceptives are widely available, sexually active adolescents are less likely to use contraceptives than adults. In Latin America, Europe and Asia only 42-68% of adolescents who are married or in partnerships use contraceptives. In Africa the rate ranges from 3-49%.
There is a lack of sexuality education in many countries. A global coverage measure related to sexuality education estimates that only 36% of young men and 24% of young women aged 15-24 in low- and middle-income countries have comprehensive and correct knowledge of how to prevent HIV.
In some situations, adolescent girls may be unable to refuse sex. Sexual violence is widespread and particularly affects adolescent girls. More than one third of girls in some countries report that their first sexual encounter was coerced.
The consequences:
Pregnant adolescents are more likely than adults to have unsafe abortions. An estimated three million unsafe abortions occur globally every year among girls aged 15-19 years. Unsafe abortions contribute substantially to lasting health problems and maternal deaths.
Having babies during adolescence has serious consequences for the health of the girl and her infant, especially in areas with weak health systems. In some countries, adolescents are less likely than adults to obtain skilled care before, during and after childbirth.
Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15-19 years in many low- and middle-income countries. Stillbirths and newborn deaths are 50% higher among infants born to adolescent mothers than among those born to mothers aged 20-29 years. Infants of adolescent mothers are also more likely to have low birth weight, which can have a long-term impact on their health and development.
Global context:
Adolescent pregnancy is a major contributor to maternal and child mortality, and to the vicious cycle of ill-health and poverty. The Global strategy for women’s and children’s health, launched by the United Nations Secretary-General in 2010, stresses the importance of addressing the health and welfare of adolescent girls in order to achieve the fifth Millennium Development Goal on maternal mortality reduction.
WHO response:
In May 2011, the World Health Assembly adopted a resolution urging Member States to accelerate actions to improve the health of young people. It included these specific measures:

• Reviewing and revising policies to protect young people from early child-bearing;
• Providing access to contraception and reproductive health care services; and
• Promoting access to accurate information on sexual and reproductive health.

WHO published guidelines on how to prevent early pregnancies and poor reproductive outcomes among adolescents in low- and middle-income countries. Prepared in partnership with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the guidelines were based on a systematic review of the existing research as well as consultation with policy-makers, programme managers and front-line health workers. They contain evidence-based recommendations on actions that countries can take, targeting six key objectives:

• Reducing marriage before the age of 18;
• Creating understanding and support to reduce pregnancy before the age of 20;
• Increasing the use of contraception by adolescents at risk of unintended pregnancy;
• Reducing coerced sex among adolescents;
• Reducing unsafe abortion among adolescents;
• Increasing the use of skilled antenatal, childbirth and postnatal care among adolescents.

In addition to calling for action to prevent adolescent pregnancies, the guidelines and accompanying policy briefs call for further research and set out directions for this to take.
A report on Early marriages, adolescent and young pregnancies for the Sixty-fifth World Health Assembly to be held in May 2012 refers to the guidelines.

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Pregnant Adolescent

1. Sign of pregnancy. 
There are many different signs said the a girl already pregnant.
- Loss of uterus lining by thickening to the zygote is fertilized. Thus, the uterine lining detachment does not happen.
 - Some girls bleed a little vaginal bleeding when zygote implantation in the uterus.
 - During the first trimester, pregnant women often experience nausea and vomiting can be due to hormonal changes, urinating more often, changing dietary needs, and sore breasts, enlarged nipples and areola become darker.

- Pregnant women can often be tired and lose energy.
 It is important to note that the menstrual cycle of the female adolescent may not have, which means they can take a woman's cycle.
 That is not necessarily a sign of pregnancy. Only medical tests can confirm the pregnancy. The pregnancy test is often available in health centers and pharmacies. The mechanism of this test are as follows: zygote produces a particular hormone: Human Chronic namedropping hormone (HCG). Thus, the presence of HCG in the blood or urine shows a pregnant woman. Pregnancy tests measure the levels of HCG in the urine a few drops in the early morning and confirmed the pregnancy by the way. Pregnancy tests are accurate measures if it is done at the right time, usually three to four weeks after the menstrual
2. Difficulty of pregnant Adolescent.
- The children of teenage mothers often have low birth weight and common health problems and development. This makes mothers have less time to earn money and get the education or recreation.
- Giving birth at a young age can cause a serious risk to health, including maternal mortality. Illness can cause the adolescent mothers too sick to care for their children. Adolescent mothers are less likely almost completed the study, especially they can be expelled from school. There fore, they risk living in poverty more than friends peers. At the same time, poverty may threaten their health and the health of their children.
- The adolescent mothers lack of access to employment opportunities for low-income or. This can negatively affect self-control, self-determination and the right of access to health care services.
- Adolescents born out of wedlock are often stigmatized them isolated. In some cases, the discrimination against the illegitimate parenthood may lead to rejection of family and community.

3. The consequences of pregnant at Adolescent
Because pregnant is a complex process and sensitivity, conception does not always lead to healthy pregnancies and gave birth to a healthy baby. The women have a miscarriage, also known as natural miscarriage, or maybe a child born with deformities. In the early stages of pregnancy, not all women have abortions because they may think that their business is slow. In the later stages of pregnancy, can easily identify the more abortions.
The adolescent girls at risk for more complications during pregnancy and childbirth because their bodies are not fully developed to pregnant throughout pregnancy. Women aged 15-19 are at risk of pregnancy or institutional birth twice in women aged 20-24. In addition to the risks and complications for the health of mothers, infants of adolescent mothers are at risk of having more health problems, such as premature birth risk higher weight lower infant and rates.

4. Management of unintended pregnant :
  If an unwanted pregnant to girlfriend
- Calm down, think about it and tell her boyfriend knew.
- Along with her ​​boyfriend attempt to resolve after appropriate consideration of the advantages and disadvantages of each solution.
- Talk to the trust or to advise if both find it difficult to find solutions

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