Medical experts have on many instances called the attention of the public to the dangers of teenage pregnancy, which they described as a major health challenge facing Nigeria.
They cited a report of the World Health Organisation, WHO, which indicates that more than 16 million girls, aged between 15 and 19 years, give birth to babies every year worldwide. Disturbed by this report, stakeholders have therefore called for the adoption of proactive measures to check the rising menace of teenage pregnancy in the country.
The reasons behind teenage pregnancy, they observed, include poverty and sexual abuse, among others. In Nigeria, adolescent births occur among the poor, less educated and rural populations. The increasing incidence of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria can be appreciated against the backdrop of the fact that about 44.5 million Nigerians are said to be young people.
And in 2015, this number, experts say, is expected to increase to 60 million young people due to early marriages, early exposure to sex and pregnancy, and poor health services. These teenage girls are at risk of having sexual and reproductive health problems. The negative consequences of teenage pregnancy, experts have observed, include unsafe abortions, pregnancy
complications, poor antenatal care and childbirth complications induced by weak pelvic bones, among others.
Teenagers have been misinformed by their peers and some members of the society on the risks of pre-marital sex, thereby allowing them to be abused sexually. Several teenagers have lost their lives to abortion, while others had contracted deadly sexually transmitted diseases. If people are educated on total abstinence from pre-marital sex, over 90 per cent of the people will be free from teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections as well as allied problems, experts believe.
“We must make sure that adolescents and young adults have access to life-saving reproductive and sexual health information as well as services”, says Professor Friday Okonofua, Professor of Obstetrics and Gynaecology and Social Change Advocate, Women’s Research and Action Centre, WHARC.
Speaking on teenage pregnancy in Nigeria and its economic implications, Okonofua said, “Policies exist, but what we need is the implementation, so that actual good quality services that will protect the health and well-being of Nigeria’s youth – our country’s future.’’
He said that teenagers who indulge in pre-marital sex face the risk of dropping out of school as a result of pregnancy. He identified unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDs, as some of the major challenges facing young people who engage in pre-marital sex. He, however, noted that poverty was also responsible for many of the teenage pregnancies, adding that pregnant teenagers usually face a lot of trauma, social abuse and health related problems.
“There is need for parents, school authorities and guardians to acquire relevant knowledge on teenage sexuality for them to be able to educate teenagers on sexual issues.
“This will also aid efforts to prevent the circumstances associated with irresponsible sexual behaviour,’’ he said. Besides, he advised parents to sensitise their children on the dangers of early sex, while making pragmatic efforts to dissuade them from engaging in pre-marital sexual relations.
“Parents are also called upon to create more time for their children’s upbringing, rather than leaving them under the care of housemaids; they should not forget the fact that money is not everything,” he said.
All the same, Okonofua notes that pragmatic efforts should be made in Nigeria, addressing the root causes of teenage pregnancy.
“WHARC has launched a new campaign – Red Hot Issue – with a plea for the urgent implementation of youth-friendly health services across Nigeria.
“Currently, young people don’t have access to appropriate health services, especially reproductive health information and services. This leads to high numbers of unwanted pregnancies, unsafe abortions, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS, and one of the world’s highest risks of death during childbirth.
WHARC aims to gather support from 100,000 Nigerians by December 1, when they will hand an appeal to the government of Nigeria.
Therefore, WHARC has launched the campaign ‘Red Hot Issue advocacy campaign’ to bring attention to the following grave facts. Each year, 60,000 Nigerian women die due to pregnancy-related complications, half of whom are under 20 years old. Nearly 50 per cent of young Nigerian women are pregnant by the time they turn 20. About a third of adolescent girls are sexually active by 15 years of age and half by 18. Both access to and the understanding of contraceptives among young people is limited. Many young pregnant women resort to unsafe abortions. Only 4 per cent of young people have tested for HIV.
“Women’s Research and Action Centre, WHARC, is a pioneering adolescent’ health research group and advocate for policies and services that will enhance the health and improve the status of women and adolescents in Nigeria. WHARC has been researching adolescent sexual health and rights in Nigeria and Sub-Saharan Africa for over 20 years. Our findings indicate that amongst others, fear of parents, especially the perception that treatment-seeking could lead to parental notification and consequent reprisals, is a major barrier to adolescent care-seeking.
“Adult caregivers either fail to discuss matters of sexuality with wards, or young people prefer not to discuss such issues with adult caregivers. Cultural norms may prevent sexual and reproductive health matters from being discussed publicly, and the discussion of sexual matters with children is often characterised by feelings of embarrassment.
“As Nigeria faces a serious threat of an escalating
HIV/AIDS epidemic and increasing incidence of STDs among adolescents, there is a need for a more pragmatic and liberal official attitude towards promotion of modern contraceptives use.
Targeting reproductive health programmes at in-school adolescents can be expected to be effective in reaching a high proportion of adolescents.
“Furthermore, education is a very potent social determinant of young people’s sexual and reproductive health and rights.
More educated youths tend to become sexually active older, have a higher likelihood of using family planning methods and tend to marry older”, he concluded.