Teenage pregnancy: Causes, effects and how it can be curbed
What at all is going on among our teenagers? What brings about teenage pregnancy? These are questions Ghanaians and stakeholders ask over and over again.
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A teenager is someone from the age of 13 to 19. Teenage pregnancy means a teenager who is pregnant. Specifically in Ghana and as in many other African countries, most teenagers are in school. Naturally, after puberty, girls can become women and be pregnant. But, it is neither safe nor convenient for a schoolgirl to become pregnant. I would like to highlight few of the factors that bring about the menace.
popParental supervision
The first primary cause of this canker is the lack of proper supervision from parents. In some urban areas, parents do not supervise their children. They don’t care where they are, where they sleep and what they eat. Parents must provide for their children physically, mentally, financially and spiritually to mould them into individual leaders for the future.
Poverty
The second major cause to this menace is poverty. The high level of poverty in the country, especially in the rural areas, pushes many teenagers into the cities to engage in sex trade. They easily exchange sex for food and other favours. In effect, some of them sleep with multiple partners, thereby risking teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).
The next point that has to be dealt with is strong desire for material things. The world today is becoming more materialistic; girls are interested in cars, houses, expensive dresses and pleasures of life. The quest for material things pushes many teenagers to engage in immoral acts such as sex so as to acquire them.
Ignorance
The third cause to talk about is ignorance about sex. The lack of sex education makes many teenagers vulnerable to pre-marital sex that can lead to pregnancy. Parents and the educational system do not provide sufficient sex education that makes teenagers well informed to withstand all forms of pressure from peers and irresponsible adults. The high level of ignorance among teenagers contributes greatly to teenage pregnancy in the country.
Irresponsible adult behaviour
Last but not least cause I wish to touch on is irresponsible adult behaviour. Some adult men are so irresponsible that they influence teenage girls with money and presents to lure them into sex. Most of these irresponsible adults even rape or defile their victims and this leads to teenage pregnancy and teenage motherhood. All these causes that bring about this menace can affect the teenage girl as outlined below.
Teenage pregnancy increases high school drop-out rate. Many pregnant girls easily drop out of school. In fact, they are not able to continue their education because of the pregnancy. They are usually shy to go back to school after they have been delivered of their baby.
Prostitution is also one of the effects of this canker. Many teenage mothers end up in prostitution to make ends meet. Since they lack skill and education, they “sell their bodies” to make money to feed themselves. Child prostitution is common in most parts of the cities and towns in Ghana.
The next effect as a result of teenage pregnancy is abandoned children. Some teenage mothers leave their children on the street because they cannot look after them. Some might even kill the innocent babies and this contributes to the growing number of children in the orphanages and foster homes.
Social misfits
Most of the children born to teenagers do not get adequate need in life. They lack education, skills and training. Many of them end up as social misfits. They engage in all sorts of criminal activities such as stealing, cheating and killing that may lead them to juvenile detention.
Preventive measures
To curb this, teenagers must be taught assertiveness as a skill. This will enable them to resist attempts by their peers to engage in pre-marital sex. Those skills would allow them stand against all negative influences. They should be bold to say “NO” to their peers and irresponsible men who want to have sex with them.
Proper parenthood skills must be introduced. Parents should be responsible for their children’s upbringing. Well-informed parents would help their children meet their most basic needs.
Public education on sex must be broadcast on television and radio. Parents, schools, churches, mosques and opinion leaders must help intensify sex education among teens and the youth. This would provide them with the needed information to resist attempts by their peers to influence them negatively.
Also, teenage girls must dress decently in order not to attract the opposite sex. They must wear dresses that will cover their bodies and not dresses that would expose sensitive parts of their bodies.
The writer is a student of the Hijaz Islamic Basic School.