BY ROSEMARY NWAEBUNI
“I know the boy who impregnated my daughter. He comes to my shop regularly to buy things. I never knew the 19-year-old, unassuming boy was having backhand dealings with my 17-year-old daughter, who comes to assist me in the shop at weekends. Now he has gotten her pregnant. She was in her first year at the university, but she is currently at home. She couldn’t continue her education with pregnancy’’, lamented Madam Caro, a single mother who is into petty trading from which she ekes out a living and also caters for her two teenage children’s education.
‘’Can you see how stupid and irresponsible you are? You have just made a big mistake that will ruin your life. I never thought you could ever do this to me, getting pregnant at your age. Worse still for a jobless and irresponsible 18-year-old boy. You are still in senior secondary school for crying out loud. Where do I start from as a poor single mother of three?’’ A frustrated and disappointed mother, Ginika, was heard blaming and scolding her teenage daughter, who got pregnant at 15.
‘’When my parents discovered that I was pregnant, my father almost brought down the roof. I have never seen him in such a fit of anger. He beat the hell out of me while consistently asking who got me pregnant. All efforts by my mother to restrain and calm him down were rebuffed. At the end, he chased me out of the house into the cold night. I was only 17 years old at the time. My survival was by the grace of God’’, recalled a victim of teenage pregnancy.
The above scenarios demonstrate the different ways parents reacted upon discovering that their teenage daughter got pregnant. They also underscore how negatively society views teenage pregnancy, which typifies parental failure and waywardness on the part of the teenage girl.
A teenager or adolescent is a person between the ages of 13 and 19 years old. It is the stage of life between childhood and adulthood, characterised by rapid growth, the onset of puberty, and the formation of a distinct personality and sense of self.
Teenage pregnancy, also known as adolescent pregnancy, is a pregnancy in a female under the age of 20. This description of teenage pregnancy also includes those who are below the age of 20 but are legally considered adults in their country.
In Nigeria, approximately 15 per cent of girls aged 15-19 are currently pregnant or have given birth, according to the 2023-24 National Demographic Health Survey (NDHS). The survey further reveals that 23 per cent of women aged 15-19 have started childbearing (either pregnant or already have a child), while 11 per cent of the 15-19 age group have already given birth. Also revealed is that two per cent of this age bracket have experienced pregnancy loss.
Several factors are responsible for the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria today. These include lack of comprehensive sex education, poverty, cultural values held by some communities, parental neglect, and early exposure to sexual activities, societal pressures like early marriage, peer influence and early exposure to social media. Limited access to or ineffective sex education leaves many teenagers unprepared for sexual activities. Many teenagers lack comprehensive sexual education, which leads to misunderstandings about contraception, reproductive health and the consequences of unprotected sex. Without proper knowledge, they may engage in sexual activities, unmindful of the risks involved. This lack of sex related information often leads to unintended pregnancies.
Poverty is a key driver of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria. It not only limits access to education and healthcare, but also reproductive health services. Teenagers in low-income communities may have fewer resources for contraception and sexual health education, making them more vulnerable to adolescent pregnancy.
Some Nigerian communities hold cultural values that expose teenage girls to early sexual activities and discourage the use of contraceptives. This usually creates an environment where teenage pregnancy is more accepted or even expected.
Parental neglect often contributes to the prevalence of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria. Many teenagers lack parental supervision, inadequate emotional support and failure to admonish their female teens about sexuality, the inherent dangers and need for them to boldly report anyone who tries to touch them inappropriately.
Many parents are less involved in their teenager’s daily life, leading to fewer rules and less monitoring of their activities, circle of friends and their whereabouts at any point in time. This reduced parental monitoring allows their teenage girls more opportunities to engage in high-risk behaviours, including unprotected sexual activity, which may result in pregnancy.
Many teenagers are still developing emotionally and may not fully grasp the implications of sexual relationships. They usually confuse love or affection with the need to have sex, leading to situations where they engage in sexual activity prematurely and without understanding the potential for pregnancy.
