REDUCING TEENAGE PREGNANCY THROUGH SKILLS DEVELOPMENT
Teenage
pregnancy refers to pregnancy of a woman of less than 19 years. It is found
commonly amongst young people who have been disadvantaged and have poor
expectations with regard to either their education or job market. Uganda has
one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa at over
25%. By 17 years of age, 43.3% of adolescent girls have begun child bearing and
by 19 years, over 70.8% of adolescent girls have given birth or are pregnant
with their first child (UDHS 1995). Regionally, the rate of teenage pregnancy
is 30.6% for East Central Uganda, 30.3% for Eastern, 29.7% for Karamoja, 26.4%
for West Nile and 25.6% for the North (Ending Teenage Pregnancy – UNFPA, 2012).
Even if defilement is a capital offence by the laws of Uganda, most of the
marriages are sanctioned by parents. Law enforcement officials support the
vice; since they share the money for out of court settlement (2013 Isis-WICC
study).
Adolescents
from poor households are at higher chances of becoming pregnant as compared to
those from well-to-do families. Defilement is one of the causes of teenage
pregnancy. For example, 8,076 cases of defilement were reported to Uganda
Police (Uganda Police, Annual Police Crime and Traffic Report, 2012), 54% of young people think that a girl cannot
get pregnant the first time she has sex (Straight Talk Foundation report
2013), higher among uneducated girls:
45% of girls without education have already had a baby, compared to 16% of
girls with secondary school education and a quarter of girls aged 19 years are
already mothers or pregnant with their first child (UBOS and Macro
International Inc. 2011). 15% of young women aged between 20-29 years old were
married at the age of 15; while 49% were married by the age of 18 years and 49%
of Ugandan girls are married before their 18th birthday despite the fact that
the law does not allow it (UDHS 2011), and young girls are twice likely to die
during pregnancy or child birth compared to a mature lady in her 20s (UNFPA 2013).
Also Teenage mothers are comparatively at risk of predisposed to pre and
postnatal complication because most of them are not physiologically ready for
child bearing roles. For the young girls who get pregnant by “accident” or
“unwanted pregnancy”, are likely to experience violence in marriage because
partners are not prepared emotionally and materialistically for the role of
parenting, both enter marriage without knowing weakness of one another.
Teenage
pregnancy further presents a crucial set back to holistic human development, at
the homestead in particular and the country at large. Conceiving at an early
age at which one should ordinarily be in school lead to the end of academic
journeys for these young ladies. Predictably, low education is remotely correlated
to low income status and low educated women are less likely to get gainful
employment compared to their educated peers. Housewives with no formal
employment do a lot of work at home, but which work is not valued monetarily.
Poverty
is not only about having enough money to meet basic needs including food,
clothing and shelter, being sick and not being able to see a
doctor, lack of access to education and not knowing how to read, lack of a job,
fear for the future, living one day at a time so it is much more than just not
having enough money. Poverty has many
faces, changing from place to place and across time, and has been described in
many ways. Most often, poverty is a
situation people want to escape. So poverty is a call to action for the poor
and the wealthy alike a call to change
the world so that many more may have enough to eat, adequate shelter, access to
education and health, protection from violence, and a voice in what happens in
their communities.”
In
addition to a lack of money, poverty is about not being able to participate in
recreational activities; not being able to send children on a day trip with
their schoolmates or to a birthday party; not being able to pay for medications
for an illness. These are all costs of
being poor. Those people who are barely able to pay for food and shelter simply
can’t consider these other expenses.
When people are excluded within a society, when they are not well
educated and when they have a higher incidence of illness, there are negative
consequences for society. We all pay the
price for poverty. The increased cost on
the health system, the justice system and other systems that provide supports
to those living in poverty has an impact on our economy (World Bank).
Poverty
varies considerably depending on the situation and country for example poverty
in Canada is different from that in Uganda. The unsustainable population growth
is without a doubt a direct constraint on the already meager resource envelop
available to government and the government will increasingly find it difficult
to provide social services for this bulging dependent population.
The
teenage years are a unique period of growth and development that are filled
with energy, excitement and new experiences. Teens always have a need for excitement
and adventure, which sometimes causes them to overlook the potential dangers
involved in risk-taking activities, such as unprotected sexual activity or drug
experimentation.
Due
to physical, hormonal, sexually awareness and social needs; Teenagers may experience
significant growth between the ages of 13 and 18. Hormonal levels increase, as
adolescent girls begin producing more estrogen. Teen girls fill out physically,
begin menstruation, gain weight and can grow almost 10 inches taller between these
ages and also teen boys also experience hormonal changes and begin producing
more testosterone. Physical changes common in adolescent boys include growth of
facial hair and significant weight gain. Teen boys can grow up to 20 inches
taller between these ages. Physical and hormonal changes also bring about an
increased sexual awareness, leading many teens to begin to experiment with
their sexuality. Many teenagers begin to engage in sexual activity early in
adolescence, (American Academy of Pediatrics). Some Teens become involved in a
sexual relationship with a boyfriend or girlfriend or dedicate much of their
time to socialization. Time with friends sometimes takes priority over
schoolwork or time with family.
Some
teens begin to question their parents’ points of view, and they enjoy debating
ideas. Organizational skills tend to improve, as many teens are able to handle
multiple responsibilities, including work, socialization and school (The Palo
Alto Medical Foundation). However, impulsivity often wins over intellectual
growth, and teens often act before thinking of long-term consequences for
example early sexual initiation leads to teenage pregnancy, increased school
dropout.
Teenage
Pregnancy for those under age presents long term effects and risks. Young
bodies are usually not prepared for the 9 months pregnancy process and later
conception also high chances for these teenagers suffering from fistula during
and after pregnancy. It disrupts these girls from their education which affects
them economically in the long term. This sustains the vicious cycle of poverty
(Faith-Marie Stopes).
Despite
the many definitions, one thing is certain; poverty is a complex societal
issue. No matter how poverty is defined, it can be agreed that it is an issue
that requires everyone’s attention. It
is important that all members of our society work together to provide the
opportunities for all our members to reach their full potential. It helps all of
us to help one another.
The
poverty is association to Teenage marriages are real; unsustainable population
growth and a bottleneck to economic development so it must be solved. Solving
this calls for multi-pronged approach. It’s upon this background that am conducting
this research to avail key stakeholder with necessary information on the impact
of poverty and other factors on teenage pregnancy so as
- · Promoting family and school based approach to provide regulated dosage of sex education and economic empowerment through vocational training because poverty compels parents to give out their daughters in forced marriages have to be tackled.
- · Institutionalizing/reactivating guidance and counseling in households and other social structures/systems.
- · To advocate for enforcement of already existing laws on prevention defilement, rape, early marriage and all form teenage pregnancies.
For any support contact us on Phone:+256 782503231 or email:developyouth@gmail.com
Visit our offices located 32 km along Kampala-Gayaza-Zirobwe Road.
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