PUB017-6: Action Plan for Adolescent Pregnancy in Indian Community

This report outlines an action plan addressing adolescent pregnancy within the Indian community. It begins by defining adolescent pregnancy and explores its causes, including unprotected sex, early dating behavior, substance use, peer pressure, and unhealthy home environments. The report also hi...Read More

Unit: Principle, Policies and Issues in Public Health
Unit Code: PUB017-6
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Background
The action plan aims to illustrate a strategy for adolescent pregnancy in
Indian community in recent and upcoming years. Adolescent pregnancy and
parenthood are a serious social and global problem that occurs in many of our
community and society. In recent years many adolescents choose to be
sexually active before they are prepared for the commitments of loving
relationships. Many sexually active people do not use contraceptive, exposing
them to the unwanted pregnancy. Many people are concerned because they
believe that adolescent pregnancy is an epidemic among our teenagers.
However adolescent pregnancy is not an epidemic and our concern is not due
to the size of the problem.
“Adolescent pregnancy can be defined as a teenaged or underage girl, who
usually between age 13 to 18 years old, becoming pregnant.”
“Adolescent pregnancy, teen pregnancy social medicine pregnancy by a
teenage, between the age 13 to 18; teen pregnancy is usually understood to
occur in a teenage who has not completed her core education-secondary
school, has few or no remarkable skills, is financially dependent upon her
parents and continues to live at home and is often mentally immature.”
(Medical Dictionary)
Mark (1997) have reported that sexual abuse is more common
amongteenagers than in the general population. Teenage pregnancy is a major
issue of social problem that calls for high education and supports to encourage
girls to delay motherhood whenever they are not ready. In India, there are
many cases upcoming regarding the social issues because of social change
development. For example, transgender, drug addict, prostitution and
homosexuality. India is a developing country, so there are new issue arising
teenage pregnancy. 20 to 25 percent of pregnancies in adolescent are direct
results of rape, while about 50 percent of teenage pregnancies had unwanted
sexual experiences.
Unmarried adolescent mothers are likely to experience social ostracism and
financial difficulties. (Susheela Singh 1998). In the Indian community there are
many teenager mothers those who are not accepted by their own families. In
such condition they have to live alone and financial burden creates difficulty
for them to live a safer and healthy life.
In developing regions approximately 16 million girls aged 13 to 18 years and
2.5 million girls under 16 years give birth and 3.9 million girls aged 13 to 18
years undergo unsafe abortion in every year.
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Causes and Risk factors of Adolescent Pregnancy
Unprotected sex is fundamental cause of adolescent pregnancy. Adolescent,
who are more sexually active but does not use of contraceptive has a 90%
chance of becoming pregnant.
● Early dating behaviour: Many of the young teenagers start dating each
other in very early age. In such young age, they fail to determine
difference between right and wrong. This increases chances of
suffering from adolescent pregnancy.
● Alcohol and drugs: It is one of the major cause of increasing
adolescent pregnancy. Influence of friends and just to create
impression of others many kids start using alcohol. They lose their
mental capabilities after having drugs and alcohol. That is the main
risk factor of adolescent pregnancy
● Peer pressure to engage in sexual activity: Many friends or peer group
members pressurise teenagers to engage in sexual activity. In such
small age they fail to find out solution to overcome this pressure thus,
they make mistake that creates lifelong difficulty for young girls.
● Unhealthy environment at home : Poor atmosphere, unsupportive
family are major cause of such problem. In such kind of environment
kids do not like to stay at home and start believing on others quickly
who gives them little love.
● Rape : Crime rate is increasing in India with the rapid speed. Many
cases of rape occur in Indian community every day. Human trafficking,
rapes are main causes of adolescent pregnancy.
● Lack of support group: Unsupportive family decreases moral of
teenagers thus, they fail to deal with critical situation and get
motivated to chose wrong path.
Adolescent pregnancies have risk factor like as poor academic performance,
Economic disadvantage and single and teen parents.
Themes
Provide information and increase knowledge regarding adolescent pregnancy
in Indian youth population is the main theme of this action plan through social
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media, giving high education to girls, communication regarding sexual issue in
family and promotion. This paper will discuss: -
● Definition of Adolescent pregnancy
● Causes and risk factors
● The marriage acts policy
● Prevention and care adolescent pregnancy
● Key finding
● New initiative
● Conclusion
Policies
Government has made several laws in order to minimize cases of
adolescent pregnancy. These legislation are explained as below:
The prohibition of Child Marriage Act 2006
According to 2001 census there are 1.5 million of girls under the age of 15
years already married in India. Seeing this accident Indian Govt. passed a rule
for child marriage. They fixed the minimum marriage age of girls is 18and boy
21. By this act adolescent pregnancy rate decreased about 25 to 35% .
The child Right Act 2003
The child right Act 2003 set the minimum age of the girl marriage to be 18 and
boys’ marriage is 21. However, most of the rural family in India get married
before 18 years and they bear children with unmatured reproductive organs.
Moreover, this problem overcome by only family planning and use of the
contraceptive.
New initiative
The new initiatives suggested below
● Localising the social programme to take over by the community
authority
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● Provide the higher education minimum fees rural girls
● Localising the national programme and to give the opportunity rural girl
● Enhance the Family education regarding sexual health by the media and
campaign
● Provide good and free health facility and near a rural area
Strategies
Unwanted and early age pregnancy leads to severe mental and emotional
trauma for the girl. Hence parents, schools, social workers and healthcare
professionals can have open and educational talks with teenagers. Provide
information regarding how to prevent the unwanted pregnancy. Sex education
is not mandatory in India so Government should plan to sex education
compulsory at primary and secondary school levels. This is the great method
thorugh, which teenagers will get to know about the right and wrong thing.
This will make them able to take correct decision.
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