WHAT IS IT?

• EARLY PREGNANCY, ALSO CALLED ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY, IS THAT WHICH OCCURS WHEN A WOMAN IS
IN HER PUBERTY STAGE (BETWEEN 10 AND 19 YEARS OLD, ACCORDING TO THE WORLD HEALTH
ORGANIZATION). THIS TERM IS ALSO USED TO REFER TO THOSE PREGNANCIES OF WOMEN WHO HAVE NOT
REACHED THE LEGAL AGE OF MAJORITY IN THE COUNTRY IN WHICH THEY RESIDE. WHEN PREGNANCY
OCCURS DURING THE ADOLESCENCE STAGE, THE GIRL IS FERTILE BUT IS EXPERIENCING THE NATURAL
HORMONAL CHANGES OF THIS STAGE, THAT IS, IS NOT YET DEVELOPED, WHICH CAN HAVE SERIOUS
CONSEQUENCES FOR BOTH THE CHILD AND THE MOTHER. ALTHOUGH EARLY PREGNANCY WAS
CONSIDERED A TYPICAL PROBLEM IN THIRD WORLD COUNTRIES, IT IS INCREASINGLY COMMON TO FIND
CASES AMONG ADOLESCENTS FROM DEVELOPED COUNTRIES.
THE CAUSES OF PREGNANCIES
• AT THESE AGES DO NOT RESPOND TO A COMMON CRITERION, BUT DEPEND ON THE CULTURE, EDUCATION,
ENVIRONMENT OR MEDICAL ADVANCES OF EACH COUNTRY. IN SOME COUNTRIES, MARRIAGE IS ALLOWED
AND ENCOURAGED AT A VERY YOUNG AGE, ALMOST ALWAYS WHEN THE GIRL IS IN HER ADOLESCENT
STAGE; IN ADDITION, IN MANY CULTURES THE FERTILITY OF GIRLS IS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
VALUES.
• IN TERRITORIES WHERE MARRIAGES WITH MINORS DO NOT PREDOMINATE OR ARE ILLEGAL, THE MAIN
CAUSE OF ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY RESPONDS TO ADOLESCENT RELATIONSHIPS.
RISKS FOR THE CHILD
• CHILDREN BORN DUE TO EARLY PREGNANCIES USUALLY PRESENT DIFFERENT PHYSICAL PROBLEMS AND
ALSO RUN THE RISK OF PRESENTING PSYCHOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL PROBLEMS BECAUSE OF THE POOR
MENTAL PREPARATION OF THE MOTHER. THE MOST COMMON PROBLEMS IN CHILDREN ARE:
• CONGENITAL DEFORMITIES AND PROBLEMS DURING DEVELOPMENT: THIS IS BECAUSE THE MOTHER, NOT
HAVING REACHED SEXUAL MATURITY, COULD NOT GIVE THE CHILD EVERYTHING HE NEEDS TO BE FULLY
TRAINED. IN OTHER CASES, THE CHILD DIES AT BIRTH OR DOES NOT REACH THE YEAR OF LIFE.
RISKS TO THE MOTHER
•
PREGNANCY REPRESENTS A SITUATION INFLUENCED BY MANY IMPORTANT ELEMENTS, SUCH AS PHYSICAL,
MENTAL AND SOCIAL. DURING THE STAGE OF ADOLESCENCE, NONE OF THESE ELEMENTS ARE DEVELOPED, BUT
ARE IN THE MIDDLE OF EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT. EARLY PREGNANCY HAS A SHOCK AND INTERRUPTION
EFFECT IN ALL THESE PROCESSES, WHICH HAS SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES FOR THE MOTHER: PHYSICAL
PROBLEMS: SINCE THE ADOLESCENT HAS NOT REACHED HER STAGE OF SEXUAL MATURITY, HER BODY IS NOT
PREPARED FOR A PREGNANCY, WHICH USUALLY LEADS TO PROBLEMS SUCH AS ANEMIA, CEPHALOPELVIC
DISPROPORTION (THE BODY IS NOT FULLY DEVELOPED, THE ADOLESCENT'S PELVIS IT IS USUALLY NARROW,
WHICH HAS A GREAT RISK OF THE BABY'S HEAD NOT GOING THROUGH LABOR), PAIN DURING PREGNANCY, AND
SO ON.
HOW TO PREVENT IT?
•
THE BEST WAY TO PREVENT AN EARLY PREGNANCY LIES IN EDUCATION (ALTHOUGH THIS DEPENDS HEAVILY ON
THE CULTURAL CONTEXT), RAISING AWARENESS AMONG YOUNG GIRLS ABOUT THE IMPORTANCE OF REACHING
MATURITY AND DEVELOPING WHEN PREGNANT, AS WELL AS THE RISKS THAT THIS ENTAILS. ENCOURAGING THE
USE OF CONDOMS AND OTHER CONTRACEPTIVE METHODS IN SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS ALSO HELPS PREVENT
EARLY PREGNANCY. ON THE OTHER HAND, TRYING TO REDUCE THE NUMBER OF MARRIAGES CELEBRATED
BEFORE THE AGE OF 18 IS ALSO A WAY TO PREVENT THESE SITUATIONS.
OTHER DATA
•
THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION PROVIDES A SERIES OF DATA THAT ALLOW ASSESSING THE IMPACT OF EARLY
PREGNANCY:
• ABOUT 16 MILLION ADOLESCENTS BETWEEN THE AGES OF 15 AND 19 AND APPROXIMATELY 1 MILLION GIRLS UNDER THE AGE
OF 15 GIVE BIRTH EACH YEAR, MOSTLY IN LOW- AND MIDDLE-INCOME COUNTRIES.
• COMPLICATIONS DURING PREGNANCY AND CHILDBIRTH ARE THE SECOND CAUSE OF DEATH AMONG GIRLS AGED 15 TO 19
WORLDWIDE.
• EVERY YEAR, SOME 3 MILLION GIRLS AGED 15 TO 19 YEARS UNDERGO DANGEROUS ABORTIONS.
• BABIES OF TEENAGE MOTHERS FACE A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER RISK OF DYING THAN THOSE BORN TO WOMEN 20 TO 24
YEARS OF AGE.
CONCLUSIONS
•
PREGNANCY IN ADOLESCENTS TODAY IS A PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM, NOT ONLY ASSOCIATED WITH THE ORGANIC
DISORDERS TYPICAL OF MATERNAL YOUTH, BUT ALSO BECAUSE SOCIO-CULTURAL AND ECONOMIC FACTORS ARE INVOLVED
THAT COMPROMISE THE MOTHER AND CHILD BINOMIAL. AS ADOLESCENCE IS A STAGE IN WHICH A SET OF PHYSIOLOGICAL,
SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL CHANGES OCCUR; IF THE ADOLESCENT IS LESS THAN 15 YEARS OLD, THERE HAS BEEN AN
INCREASED RISK OF MISCARRIAGE, PRETERM BIRTH OR CESAREAN DELIVERY DUE TO PHYSIOLOGICAL IMMATURITY. IF SHE
IS OLDER THAN 15 YEARS, THE PREGNANT WOMAN HAS THE SAME RISK AS AN ADULT PATIENT, EXCEPT IF SHE IS POORLY
NOURISHED, OR IF SHE IS IN A SITUATION OF ABANDONMENT BY HER PARTNER OR FAMILY, ON THE OTHER HAND IT IS
POSSIBLE THAT THE ADOLESCENT IS NOT READY TO EMOTIONALLY ASSUME THE COMMITMENT OF A BABY OR NEED MORE
SUPPORT. IN VIEW OF THIS, IT IS NECESSARY TO CREATE PROGRAMS TO PROMOTE INFORMATION AND SERVICES REQUIRED
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE TO RAISE AWARENESS AND ACHIEVE RESPONSIBLE SEXUALITY. LIKEWISE, IT IS NECESSARY TO CREATE
SUPPORT CENTERS FOR PREGNANT ADOLESCENTS, BOTH FROM A MEDICAL AND EMOTIONAL POINT OF VIEW.