Causes and prevention of early pregnancy. Teenage pregnancy: causes and consequences

For many teenagers, the topic of sex is one of the most interesting. But few girls think about all the consequences of early sexual activity. Attraction to the opposite sex is a natural attraction that arises and develops during puberty. However, the appearance of sexual desire does not mean that human body has already reached puberty. The age at which girls first enter into sexual relations, plays a big role in the assessment of sex and the formation of further attitudes towards it. Girls, once confronted with rudeness and pain, can become disgusted for a long time with the process of sex, as such in general.
However, the girl is not ready to begin sexual activity not only mentally, but also physiologically. The girl’s body has not yet matured, the mucous membrane is not yet prepared for the start of sexual intercourse and is more vulnerable to the effects of an aggressive environment, which leads to various inflammatory diseases. Teenagers are also poorly aware of the presence of sexually transmitted diseases. There are more than 40 such infections, and one sexual contact is enough to become infected. And that's not only venereal diseases, but also HIV infection, viral hepatitis B and C. Girls who started early sex life, suffer 5 times more often cancer diseases cervix. Scientists have proven that cervical cancer is caused by the papilloma virus, which is sexually transmitted. An insufficiently formed young body does not cope well with this virus. When it enters a girl’s body early, it causes slow pathology of the cervix.
Also, early sexual intercourse can lead to a pregnancy that is completely unwanted at this age. And then the question arises - what to do? There are only two ways out of this situation, both negative: the first is abortion, the second is early birth. And often there is only one solution - abortion. The consequence of such an operation is infertility.
We should not forget about legal aspects early sexual life. The age of consent is, in criminal law, the age at which a person is considered capable of giving informed consent to have sex with another person. In most cases, an adult is legally responsible if he has sex with a person under this age. IN Russian Federation For the commission of sexual intercourse without the use of violence by a person over 18 years of age, a person under 16 years of age is subject to criminal liability. Age criminal liability For sexual assault or rape, the penalty is 14 years old, regardless of the age of the victim.

For many teenagers, the topic of sexual relations is one of the most interesting.

Few of the boys and girls think about all the consequences of early sexual activity. Nowadays, more and more young people have sexual intercourse during adolescence. Twenty years ago, the first sexual experience for girls came at about 18-20 years old, now - at 15-16 years old. The reason for this is both acceleration, and unhealthy relationships in the family, and coercion by a partner, the desire to meet imposed standards, the fear of losing young man, being alone, and sometimes simple curiosity.

Early sexual activity brings enormous harm to a teenager's health. It disrupts the formation of the body and causes growth retardation. Adolescents who start sexual activity early become lethargic, get tired quickly, study poorly, and cope worse with their work. The girl bears a great burden of the consequences of early sexual life, from which she sometimes fails to fully recover for many years, and sometimes for her whole life.

Danger comes first early pregnancy. Paradox adolescence And adolescence is that when ready for sexual activity, the body is practically not ready for childbirth, and the first abortion at a young age can forever deprive a woman of the joy of motherhood in the future. Chronic inflammatory process genital organs, which arose as a result of early sexual activity, often leads to infertility.

Sexually transmitted infections are a scourge for young girls. Within two years of having their first sexual experience, half of teenage girls become infected with at least one of three well-known sexually transmitted diseases: chlamydia, trichomoniasis, and gonorrhea. In girls who started sexual relations at the age of 15, subsequently cervical cancer occurs 2 times more often than in those who started it at 19 years of age and later. At the onset of sexual activity, adolescents do not have the necessary information to the full extent and therefore are easily at risk of STIs. They do not know which contraceptives to use and when to see a doctor. During casual sexual intercourse, conditions are created for infection with sexually transmitted infections, causing enormous harm. They cause severe inflammation of the genital organs, disruption of their function, sometimes inflammatory tumors are formed, requiring surgical treatment.

Based on the above, the conclusion suggests itself that a adequate sex education – extremely necessary measure to warn everyone negative consequences early sexual life. It is imperative to instill in young people that the fullness of love can be experienced by being a mature person in all respects. And perhaps then there will be less disappointment and tragedy in the lives of young people.

Early motherhood is dangerous for a woman and can have a negative impact on the child.

The level of psychological readiness for motherhood is influenced by various factors, including the degree of psychophysiological maturity. Great importance a woman’s age plays a role, since women have different age groups characterized by physiological and psychological characteristics influencing readiness for motherhood.

Scientists claim that the age from 16 to 18 years is not favorable for the birth of a child, either physiologically or psychologically.

Modern science It has been established that, despite acceleration - the acceleration of the pace of individual development - the physical, intellectual and social maturity necessary for the birth and upbringing of a child does not occur at 16 - 18 years of age.

Kashapova S.O., examining the psycho-emotional and personal characteristics of girls aged 16 to 18 years who are expecting the birth of a child, concludes that pregnant women of this age are characterized by inadequate self-esteem, internal conflict, and infantilism. When comparing the obtained results with the data on the formation of the maternal sphere in women of optimal childbearing age, the author notes the distorted formation of the maternal sphere of girls under the age of 19 who are expecting the birth of a child.

In girls aged 18, the development of the body has not yet been completed. In particular, immaturity of the pelvic bones is the cause premature birth, congenital deformities. Moral and social problems are of great importance at this age. These are also personal problems. The girl feels universal condemnation, her self-esteem decreases, she moves away from others, the feeling of loneliness and uselessness intensifies. Problems arise in the relationship with the child. Girls aged 16-18 feel internal confusion, and the difficulties experienced can cause cruelty to the child.

Thus, a girl aged 16 - 18 is not ready to become a mother. Such an early pregnancy is undesirable not only because of the medical risk for mother and child, but also because of the moral and social climate, which is by no means favorable for further development young mother and her baby. Becoming a mother in adolescence, a young woman, due to social and mental immaturity, is not able to realize the full significance of the changes that have taken place in life and the responsibility that falls on her shoulders with the birth of a child. Its situation is aggravated by legal insecurity, imperfection current legislation regarding rights underage woman who became a mother. Often this circumstance is decisive in determining the fate of the born child. After all, perhaps the only right that equates her to adult single mothers is the right to transfer the child to a state children's institution for upbringing and full state support. A young mother often takes this step under compulsion - out of hopelessness and despair. And this step is explained, first of all, by her lack of independent means to existence, their home, conditions for the normal upbringing of a child.

Typically, young mothers leave school prematurely; they tend to work in the lowest paid jobs and experience greater job dissatisfaction. They are more likely to become dependent on state support. Young mothers must continue their own personal and social development, while at the same time trying to adapt to the 24-hour needs of the infant.

Often, teens who become pregnant face strong disapproval from their family or are already in conflict with their parents by the time they become pregnant. However, if they do not marry, they often have no choice and must continue to live at home in a dependent position during pregnancy and after childbirth. Therefore, in order to avoid such a situation, some teenage girls are motivated to get married and start their own household. But marriage is not always the best solution to a young mother's problems.

Some researchers believe that, despite the fact that early motherhood interferes with growing up, in many cases it is preferable. early motherhood combined with early marriage. Marriage in late adolescence is statistically more likely to result in school dropout than teen pregnancy. In addition, those who marry at such a young age are more likely to divorce than those who have children first and marry later.

Children of teenage parents are also at a disadvantage compared to children of older parents. mature age. They may suffer from their parents' lack of experience in adult responsibilities and caring for others. Because these young parents experience stress and frustration, they are more likely to neglect or abuse their children. Children of young parents are more likely to lag behind in development and cognitive growth. If factors such as poverty, disagreements between spouses and poor education parents, the chances of these problems occurring in the child increase.

However, some young parents do an excellent job of raising their children while continuing to grow up themselves. To do this, they almost always need help. The most important social task what remains is helping young parents and their children to develop successfully and become productive members of society.

Thus, it must be concluded that many mothers feel pressure, so young mothers often drop out of school and usually receive less education. They are also more likely to get unskilled, low-paid jobs. Over time, they are more likely to have family problems, which often lead to divorce. They are more likely to become dependent on government support.

Early pregnancy, by definition, occurs in a girl under the age of 18 and is therefore often referred to as a teen. But the problem of early pregnancy in this case is not social, its essence is not that the girl has not reached the age of majority at the time of conception of the child, but that early pregnancy is very dangerous both for the girl’s fragile body and for the unborn child.

The first pregnancy at an early age is associated with risks. Complications during pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death for girls aged 15-19. That is why preventing teenage pregnancy is effective measure, which contributes to achieving the goal: improving maternal health. Early unwanted pregnancies are associated with increased rates of induced abortions, which can lead to serious health risks, including death, if performed under unsafe conditions.

Causes of teenage pregnancy

Age limits of adolescence in different countries vary depending on the timing of puberty and the laws of those countries. For European countries this age is approximately 13-19 years. Teen pregnancy is the pregnancy of a girl who is not an adult in the legal and medical sense. And the reasons why teenage girls get pregnant have nothing to do with medicine. This is a social issue.

There are several reasons for teenage pregnancy: rape (not by a maniac), joining a bad company, dysfunctional family, sexual ignorance. And upon closer examination, it turns out that the family is to blame for all these reasons.

PREVENTION OF EARLY PREGNANCY AND LOW REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH INDICATORS AMONG ADOLESCENTS

To prevent early sexual activity and early pregnancy in adolescents, WHO recommendations have been developed regarding:

Reducing the number of marriages before the age of 18;

Reducing the number of pregnancies before age 20;

Wider use contraception girls in adolescence who are at risk unwanted pregnancy;

Reducing cases of forced sexual intercourse among adolescent girls;

Reducing the number of unsafe abortions among adolescent girls;

Increased use of skilled antenatal, intrapartum and postnatal care medical services among teenage girls.

Adolescent girls need to be informed and empowered to prevent pregnancy (and sexually transmitted infections, including HIV). Sex education aims to give children and adolescents the knowledge, skills and ability to make responsible decisions about their sexual and social relationships. Likewise, adolescent girls need to be informed about medical care in the case of abortion, where provided by law, and the dangers of unsafe abortion. Teenage girls need to develop their life skills and improve their connections with social groups and systems social support, which will help them refuse unwanted sexual intercourse and resist forced sexual intercourse - measures that they are often unable to take. Important role Sex education plays a role in preventing early pregnancy.

Sex education is a system of pedagogical measures aimed at developing in children, adolescents, and young people a reasonable, healthy attitude towards issues of gender, sexual morality, and sex life. Thus, the main idea of ​​sex education is to prepare the younger generation for "adult" life.

An important section on the prevention of unwanted pregnancies in adolescents is health education, which includes: conversations with teenage girls, lectures, film and video demonstrations, the release of leaflets, memos, and the design of an information board.

Children's Polyclinic No. 1 has a "School of Reproductive Health" for adolescent girls (12-17 years old). The cycle of classes includes: 4 lectures (anatomy and physiology female body, hygiene of girls and young women; sexually transmitted infections and their prevention, impact bad habits on the girl’s body; methods modern contraception; about the dangers of abortion) with the screening of informational films and slides; questioning girls before and after classes at the school of reproductive health, analysis of the information received.

We invite you to visit our lectures, where we will answer all your questions and, if necessary, provide qualified assistance.

Obstetrician-gynecologist of the medical and social care department of DP No. 1