SOCIAL AND MEDICAL IMPLICATIONS OF TEENAGE MOTHERHOOD

Adolescence is an age segment exposed to high risk of complications during pregnancy, at birth and during the postnatal period both for the young mother and for the child. The complications associated with teenage pregnancy include premature birth, low birth weight and infant mortality. Teenage girls are physiologically, psychologically and socially unprepared to have children, as they are unable to make informed decisions about their health and their child’s health. In addition, the lack of family and social support commonly leads to newborn abandonment. Although teenage girls have the right to continue their education during pregnancy and after birth, unfortunately, many of them abandon school after becoming mothers, which causes professional and financial failure, with implications both at an individual level and within the community. Recent studies in the Anglo-Saxon literature reveal that teen abortion is a risk factor for premature birth, breast cancer and depression. Young women should be informed about the risks of abortion, regardless of their decision on the evolution of their pregnancy. Young mothers can rarely have a sustainable couple with the child’s father, which results in socio-psychological repercussions on them. To limit the phenomenon of teenage motherhood, it is compulsory that young people benefit from a more effective education within the socio-educational family setting.