Teen pregnancy is of national concern because of the critical implications it has for a number of social and economic issues: poverty, education, infant mortality rates, early brain development and overall quality of life for both the mother and child.
FOR many years, Zambia has been grappling with the unnerving problem of pregnancies among teenage girls who consequently find themselves out of school. Despite Government and stakeholders like traditional leaders having been making efforts to curb the scourge, the number of teenage girls who fall pregnant has been on the rise.
Not too long ago, there were alarming statistics of girls who became mothers in Chipata, Eastern Province, where authorities attributed the trend to archaic cultural practices and beliefs. There are yet even more distressing figures of over 1,600 and 2069 girls, some as young as 10 years old, who got pregnant in Solwezi in North-Western Province between January and September this year. Sadly, the over 1,600 girls who became mothers over the period under review include 100 lasses aged between 10 and 14. This is a clear indication that the menace of teen pregnancies is a countrywide problem which calls for pragmatic efforts by all stakeholders to fight the delinquency head-on. According to Solwezi adolescent focal point person Olive Samazaka, the affected girls were captured on their first antenatal visit to various health facilities in the district. “We cannot have 1,600-plus girls at home. We need to work and look into this issue of teenage pregnancies,” Ms Samazaka said. She is apprehensive of the alarming figures in that girls who get pregnant are more prone to complications which subject them to caesarian section during delivery. Also, such girls in most instances develop fistula because their bodies are not yet ready for childbearing. Other than these complications, teenage pregnancies have a mental effect on affected girls and are an economic burden on the family and the community as a whole. “These girls are still babies and they have babies, so there will be a struggle for care,” Ms Samazaka said. Further, adolescent mothers face higher risks of systemic infections than women aged 20 to 24, and babies of pubescent mothers are at higher jeopardy of low birth weight, preterm birth, and severe neonatal condition. Research also indicates that teenage mothers experience higher rates of depression during pregnancy and postpartum period, compared to older mothers and their non-pregnant peers. The rates of depression are estimated to be between 16 percent and 44 percent in adolescent mothers. In Zambia, there are numerous causes of pregnancies among adolescents. They include poor reproductive health information and services, particularly contraceptives, and poverty, which leads some girls to start offering sex in exchange for money, goods, and services. Others are social and cultural determinants such as gender inequality where women and girls are perceived to be the weaker sex, child marriage, and peer pressure. However, the main risk factors for teen sexual activity and pregnancy include alcohol abuse, drugs, and tobacco smoking. Dropping out of school or not having commitment to education, and having little social support such as caring families or friends are also risk factors for teenagers indulging in sex, which leads to pregnancies. In a nutshell, the high rate of teenage pregnancy in the country remains a significant concern and poses major development challenges. When adolescent girls fall pregnant, they stop going to school, which reduces opportunities to actualise their full potential and entangles them in a perpetual cycle of poverty and inequality. Therefore, the startling cases of teenage pregnancies are a real problem which requires a multifaceted approach for the battle against the scourge to be won.
In addition, the North-Western Province Campaign promotes its mission through the application of the following techniques:
Raises awareness through affiliation with the media, policy makers, organizations, and influential leaders in addition to joining forces with religious and community groups
Promotes discussion about prevention of teen and unplanned pregnancies
Develops and distributes materials including pamphlets, online information, and videos through innovative marketing strategies and partnerships with entertainment media
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