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There are over
600 million
girls in the
world today,
more than 500
million of them
in developing
countries. They are shaping humanitys
present and future. The opportunities and
choices girls have during adolescence will
enable them to begin adulthood as
empowered, active citizens.
With the right skills and opportunities, they
can invest in themselves, in their families
and their communities. However,
pregnancy jeopardizes the rights, health,
education and potential of far too many
adolescent girls, robbing them of a better
future.
About 16 million girls aged 15-19 give birth
each year, and complications from
pregnancy and child birth are the leading
cause of death among girls in this age
group, especially in developing countries.
Adolescent pregnancy is not just a health
issue, it is a development issue. It is deeply
rooted in poverty, gender inequality,
violence, child and forced marriage,
power imbalances between adolescent
girls and their male partners, lack of
education, and the failure of systems and
institutions to protect their rights. To bring
these issues to global attention, this years
World Population Day is focusing on
adolescent pregnancy.
Breaking the cycle of adolescent
pregnancy requires commitment from
nations, communities and individuals in
both developed and developing countries
to invest in adolescent girls. Governments
should enact and enforce national laws
that raise the age of marriage to 18 and
should promote community-based efforts
that support girls rights and prevent child
marriage and its consequences.
Adolescents and youths must be
provided with age-appropriate
comprehensive sexuality education to
develop the knowledge and skills they
need to protect their health throughout
their lives. However, education and
information are not enough. Good quality
reproductive health services must also be
readily available in order for adolescents
to make informed choices and be healthy.
At the local level, communities should
provide the infrastructure to deliver
reproductive health care in a youth-
friendly and sensitive way.
Underlying all these efforts is the
understanding that the dignity and human
rights of adolescent girls must be
respected, protected and fulfilled. Today,
we call on governments, the international
community and all stakeholders involved
to take measures that enable adolescent
girls to make responsible life choices and to
provide the necessary support for them in
cases when their rights are threatened.
Every young girl, regardless of where she
lives, or her economic circumstances, has
the right to fulfil her human potential.
Today, too many girls are denied that right.
We can change that, and we must.
Adolescent
Pregnancy is not
just a Health Issue
5 months Pregnant
at 18
Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin
UNFPA EXECUTIVE
DIRECTOR
I lived by my story and it went like
thisyour virginity is like as a flower
with certain amount of petals on it. It
can be a lot or a small amount. Each
time you meet a guy and have sex
with him, a petal falls off and when
you meet another guy and have sex
with him because the first relationship
didnt work out, another petal falls off
and so the cycle continues and then
by the time you meet a guy who you
really want to settle down with, there
is not really anything left and nothing
really to give.
Today, at eighteen years old, Im
unable to say what happened. I just
went off track. It wasnt peer pressure
because Im not the type of girl who
follows the crowd. I was stressed and
needed something to get my mind off
some things; school, home, issues
with family and friends just got in the
way. I tried to mask my sadness and
I manufactured many smiles as I try
to showcase a constant happy
temperament but inside told a
different story. He was my first and
hopefully he will be my last. I was a
virgin and I got caught after wanting
to do it over and over again.
I am a Christian and yes, the
churchwell, everybody was just
shocked because I was just not that
type of girl. I started telling people
because I didnt want them to find
out, I didnt want people to think that
they didnt have a good relationship
with me. I told my friends, the youth
group I belonged to and from there it
started to spread. I didnt have a
problem with it, I wanted people to
know.
It took a while for my family and
persons in the community to get it,
but the outward show was affirmation
enough. A lady in the community was
the only person who had something
totally bad to say. She took me aside
and asked if I was really pregnant, I
told yes and she went further to ask,
You get stupid eeh, a play you did a
play church? That was really hard for
me but that was just her entitled
opinion. God is my only judge.
Abortion wasnt an option; I wanted to
have my baby. My childs father is
happy and he never mentioned
abortion, he just kept apologizing
over and over, hes even cried to me.
He is nineteen, a music producer and
has a small job working at a
wholesale. He wants to support the
baby. I know it will be hard for us but
we want our child to grow up in a
stable home. Yes, I will discipline my
child but I want he/ she to have all
that is needed.
It took a while before I was able to
confront my mother and she was very
disappointed. My Father and I werent
really close but he was disappointed
as well. Now, things are changing; I
guess they are coping with the
situationaccepting reality.
My tummy is very small and no one
suspected anything so I got to finish
school and Im really happy about
that. You see, the last things you do
at High School are the hardest for
persons to forget and I didnt want
this for my life.
Having a child is a permanent thing.
Its not like babysitting, where I keep
the child for a couple hours and then
someone comes to pick him/her up, it
is going to be a lifetime change. Its
going to be my first real job. I wanted
other things for my life. I have
dreams but I know Ill have to put
them on hold for a while.
Its simple; sex is always going to be
here. It could have been worst for
me. I could have gotten HIV. I could
have gotten anything. I think Im just
lucky. I didnt want to get pregnant
and its an unplanned pregnancy. I
dont regret being pregnant but I will
certainly be more careful. I wish I had
waited but you live and you learn.
- From a Pregnant Teen
Seventeen & Eight Months Pregnant
How do you feel about being 17 and pregnant?
I feel bad and people are always looking down at me. I know I could be in school
right now doing other things with my life but they always say, You dont reach
anywhere yet.
What are the thoughts of the father-to-be?
Well, he feels good to know that as a juvenile hes getting a youte but at the
same time hes disappointed because he now has the responsibility of
fatherhood.
Where do you see yourself in the future?
I want to go back to school and be able to get a job so I can provide for my baby.
The clinic I attend provides information about contraceptives. I dont want to end
up with a second pregnancy so my plan is to start with contraceptive.
What would you say to your friends right now who may be contemplating
becoming sexually active? I would tell them now is not the time. I would tell
them to enjoy themselves because now, instead of me using my money to buy
baby supplies, I could be buying clothes and shoes and other things for me.
Jamaica recently developed a
policy that will make it
mandatory for adolescent
mothers to be re-integrated into
the formal education system
after a pregnancy. UNFPA funded
the development of the policy, which will
be implemented during the upcoming
school year by the Ministry of Education.
The policy along with the groundbreaking
service being provided by the Womens
Centre of Jamaica Foundation are
important initiatives that seek to protect
the right of young girls to an education
and the opportunity to fulfill their potential.

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Womens Centre of Jamaica Foundation
Educating Teen Mothers:
A Strategy For Nation Building
The grim unpleasant reality of adolescent pregnancy and
teen parenting is an issue grappling populations in all
societies. Bemoaning this reality, however, cannot be the
best or most meaningful response especially given the
many and varied attendant risks not least of which is the
impact on the continuing education of the teen mother.
While it is necessary to examine and address the causal
factors, there is an equal responsibility to develop and apply
remedial strategies.
A 2010 report by the National Family Planning Board
revealed a teen pregnancy rate of 14.6%. It represents a
significant decline from the 31% rate of the 1970s. The work
of the Womens Centre of Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) and
its partner agencies is recognized as contributing to the
positive change in the statistics.
Commendable though this achievement, the task is far from
over. As part of the remedial strategies, the work of the
Womens Centre is driven by a mandate to provide
continuing education for teen mothers. Although the
Programme is not mandatory, teen mothers are
encouraged to register at a Womens Centre office where
they are provided with academic instructions, counselling
and vocational training. To date, the Programme has
served over 42,000 teen mothers at the seven main centres
and nine outreach stations island wide.
The soon-to-be-implemented Re-integration Policy will
significantly give traction to the mandate of the WCJF, and
will allow for smoother transitioning of the teen mothers into
the formal school system following the WCJFs Programme
intervention. This will augur well for the countless teen
mothers who are eager to continue and complete their
secondary education.
Research findings indicate that where teen mothers are
educated, the incidence of infant and maternal mortality is
reduced and their offspring is also likely to be educated.
Education also favourably impacts poverty reduction and
incidents of domestic violence. The call, then, is for the
wider society to embrace the Re-integration Policy which
will facilitate completion of secondary education for teen
mothers and for our schools to make room for the teen
mothers so they can return to continue their education.
Parents are also encouraged to support their daughters as
they navigate the dual roles of being parent and student.
Above all, it is incumbent on the teen mother to find the
inward resolve to complete her secondary education.
Undoubtedly, the education of teen mothers is an important
remedial strategy which will positively impact nation
building.
Academic Instruction in
Core Subject Areas
Group Counselling Sessions
Day Nursery for babies of
the Teen Mothers
Skills Training
What are your
thoughts on Teenage
Pregnancy?
Its just so alarming to know that in
an age where technology is widely
used and the Internet is easily
accessible, our children are still
making poor life choices. I
understand that some of our
children get involve very early in
various sexual practises simply
because of their need/ nature to
explore. Regrettably though,
children in very depressed areas do
so because they are searching for
love and when they find a guy who
shows them even the smallest
amount of interest they think it is the
world. Its up to us as parents to
spend more time with our children-
be their friend and not so much
their governor if we ever want to
reduce the prevalence of teen
pregnancy. We have to guide our
children, care for them and love
them.
Rosemarie Henry, mother.
Well, I think our children are exposed
to sex way to early and teen moms
and dads are the results. Parents
islandwide need to form a coalition
and have frequent rallies and share
useful parenting tips. Also, we have to
ensure that we set good examples for
our children and it is then and only
then, well be able to have a strong
impact on whether a teenager makes
healthy choices about sex.
S. Chambers, mother