Worrying increase in pregnancies among school-aged girls at Linden

Jun 25, 2018 News

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– midwife advises parents to speak to kids about sex and consequences

By Enid Joaquin

“Stop hiding things, talk with your children about sex, let them know about the likely consequences.!” Melanie Norwick, a midwife attached to the adolescent antenatal clinic of the Linden Hospital Complex (LHC) advises.
Norwick is encouraging parents to initiative these types of conversations with their children to educate them about all the possible consequences of having sex, which apart from unwanted pregnancies could lead to acquiring sexually transmitted diseases.
She pointed out that it might be even better if fathers did the talking, but acknowledged that this could be difficult, as many times, they are absent from the home.
The adolescent antenatal clinic was established at the LHC last year and for that period, saw more than one hundred cases of teenage pregnancies.
Presently, there are about ten school girls between thirteen to fifteen years who are pregnant in Linden.
“We’ve seen an increase in this age group this year, but a decrease for overall teenage pregnancies for the period January to June,” Norwick disclosed.
She added that most of the girls presently pregnant are writing the National Third Form exams.
Abortions
Norwick said that some parents are trying to do abortions for their children, because of shame and the fear of unwanted publicity.
“So we have to do things that they don’t like; like housing (hospitalizing) the child and so on, because we want no harm to come to them. So your daughter gets pregnant; she’s already pregnant, you know you can’t kill her; just talk with her and let the pregnancy come.
Just let her know that this is the consequence of having sex, and you need to face it. You don’t want to punish them, but this is the reality, they have to bring the pregnancy. I really don’t like parents dirtying their hands by trying to commit abortion.”
According to a UNICEF Situation Analysis done in 2016, Teenage pregnancy is still a problem in Guyana.
It said that 15% of girls between 15 and 19 years of age had begun child bearing, with different rates depending on the area that the girl lives, her poverty status, and her ethnicity.
The Analysis further indicated that one in every five Amerindian girls between the ages of 15 and 19 was a mother at the time of the survey, and one in every four girls who lived in poor households in Guyana have started childbearing, in comparison to one in every 10 girls living in richer households.
According to the Analysis, teenage pregnancy has been associated with three factors: (i) early sexual debut, on average, five percent of the women had their first sexual relationship before the age of 15. The rate is much higher for women in poor families (12.5%), women living in the interior of the country (10%), and for those who are Amerindian, eleven percent.
Elevated rates of teenage pregnancy indicate that adolescents are at risk of contracting HIV and/or other sexual transmitted diseases, the report detailed.
Both boys and girls in Guyana are exposed to elevated levels of sexual, psychological and physical abuse at home and in their communities, as well as child trafficking and child labour. Gender based violence contributes to the aggravated situation of violence against children and neglect is the main type of abuse suffered by children, followed by sexual abuse, according to the report.
Region 10 recorded the most cases of child abuse for 2017 – 22.1 percent of the country’s recorded total, according to Director of the Child Protection Agency, Anne Greene.
The CPA Director confirmed that most of the reported cases in the Region came from Linden.
The overall rate of child abuse for Guyana in 2017 is 15.8 children per 1000 of the national population of children, statistics from the CPA indicate.
In highlighting the issue, Greene detailed that the most common form of reported child abuse is neglect, and indicated that Region 10 has the highest rate of child neglect and sexual abuse.
The Ministry of Education in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) only recently launched a programme to reintegrate teenaged mothers into schools.
The programme is titled the ‘National Policy for the Reintegration of Adolescent Mothers”.
The policy framework document was launched last Monday at the National Centre for Educational Resource Development (NCERD) at Kingston, Georgetown.
According to Statistics from the Ministry of Education during the period 2013 to 2016, only 29 teenage mothers were reintegrated into schools.
But with the new policy, it becomes mandatory for schools to afford teenage mothers the opportunity to continue their education.
Chief Education Officer (CEO) Marcel Hutson said that the goal is not only to provide proper reintegration for pregnant adolescents but to also reduce teenage pregnancy.
First Lady Sandra Granger, in delivering the feature address at the launch, said that there need to be more frank discussions on social ills like teenage pregnancy.
“We have to speak of these things and see them as violence against our children. We also have to ensure that their rights are recognised and upheld; that our legal and our social protection agencies protect these children with the full majesty of the law…The children come first and it is their future that we have to ensure… That is enshrined in our Constitution.”
Mrs. Granger further disclosed that girls as young as 11 and 12 – years old are becoming pregnant, and not through their own will.
According to Minister of Education, Nicolette Henry, teenage pregnancy is a complex issue resulting from a number of factors, including poverty, gender inequality, violence, lack of education and difficult family relationships. She said this must not prevent them from acquiring an education.
And UNICEF representative to Guyana and Suriname, Sylvie Fouet, said that Guyana ranks the second highest in teenage pregnancy in Latin America and the Caribbean. She posited that the policy is a key milestone and the next step is implementation. Fouet stated that the policy represents an important milestone for Guyana as it outlines a comprehensive approach to ensure teen mothers get a second opportunity to go back to school and to receive the necessary community and medical support.
She lamented that in Guyana, teenage pregnancy is between 20% to 22% for girls below the age of 19 – years.
Guyana is reported to have the second highest rate in teenage pregnancy in Latin America and the Caribbean, the UNICEF representative noted.

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