Too young to be a mother

Olaogun Dunsimi

For decades, teenage pregnancy has been an issue in both developed and developing countries, as four out of 10 girls either get pregnant or procure abortion before they reach the age of 20.
Olaogun Dunsimi writes on the experiences of two teenage girls and why it seems little is being done to curb it.
Pelumi Ibukun manages not to appear sluggish as she makes her way along the tarred road, but it did not last long as she feels tired already, so she walks lazily along. Her protruding tummy is surely taking its toll on her small frame, as she is in already in the seventh month of her pregnancy, and she is just 17.
These days, teenage pregnancy is a scourge that is on the increase. And more teenagers are being victims of peer pressure and rape on a daily basis. Yet pregnant teenagers are being regarded as one of ‘the usual thing.’
However, for affected teenagers, it is one of the most difficult experiences they are forced to face especially when their schooling and other important plans are interrupted. The situation in most cases creates an emotional crisis, resulting in feelings of shame or fear, and most times, such a person may crumble under pressure.
Even the thought of breaking such news to parents seems an impossible task to most teenagers that is why in rare cases girls tend to ignore the pregnancies, thereby causing health problems and risks to their lives at the end of the day.
Most teenagers don’t plan on getting pregnant when you ask them, but many do anyway.
Mary Ogonebu got pregnant at the age of 16. She says: “it was of my own making, I let the influence of friends override my thought, decision and parental training, and since I got pregnant things have not been the same for me, at home, with family members, friends, neighbours, etc. I have been ostracised by my friends, but with the help of my immediate family, it has been a little bearable,” she laments.
There are several cases where persons in this sort of situation are treated with extreme reaction and dejections, and such denial of love, care and social support from family members or friends can cause complications throughout the pregnancy period or during child birth or other health risk to the mother.
This can also result in high blood pressure, premature birth; low birth weight and in some cases, death of either the mother or baby, especially when the reproductive organs of these teens are not yet mature.
In Akungba Akoko, a village in Ondo State, majority of the women became mothers while in their teens. Those within childbearing age became mothers long before their time. The rate of these pregnant teens is on the rise because nothing is being done to check the situation especially in the rural areas. More importantly, there isn’t any form of education given to these people.
The United Nations says about 53,000 women in Nigeria die annually of pregnancy related illnesses, but teenage mothers are at more risk because of poverty, lack of access to health care, and a culture that does not like to talk about sex.
Our culture, the Nigerian culture to be precise, forbids teenage pregnancy except in the northern region where girls are married off at a tender age. Most parents ‘hush’ their children from talking about sex or discourage them from participating in any informative discussion about it.
Even this creates a communication gap between parents and their children. If talking about such subject is so weird to them, how are teens supposed to learn about things they ought to be knowledgeable about? How are they going to learn about the repercussion of taking such decisions or actions?
Other causes of teenage pregnancy are inadequate knowledge of safe sex, exploitation by older men, and socio-economic factors, whereby teenage girls from poor families are more likely to get pregnant due to their poverty condition.
The Nigerian government, with support from international aid organisations, is trying to reduce the high rate of maternal and infant mortality, which is good, but what is being done in terms of preventing early pregnancies? How many campaigns have been done on radio, television, newspapers, etc, in the rural settings to create effective awareness?
Research has also shown that 80 percent of teenage pregnancies are unintended. The government, non-governmental organisations, corporate bodies should contribute their own quota to the society in this area, thereby bringing about an effective, positive change in the minds of teenagers, in order to reduce the rate of teenage pregnancy in the country.
It is also important for parents to really think and take appropriate steps to correct this problem among the teens. Or would you want to see your teenage daughter come home pregnant someday? No? So if not, do something about it!