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.
TEENAGERS experiencing emotional neglect from their parents or guardians may feel unloved or undervalued. This may lead them to seek emotional connection and validation outside their home through romantic or sexual relationships, which may progress quickly to sexual intimacy and ultimately to unintended pregnancy.
Peer pressure equally contributes to the commonality of adolescence or teenage pregnancy. Some teenagers may feel pressured to engage in sexual activities just to fit in with their peers or gain acceptance from their mates. Such peer pressure can lead to impulsive decisions regarding sexual behaviour, often occurring without adequate consideration for the inherent consequences.
Early marriage is yet another major driver of teenage pregnancy in Nigeria. In many cases, early marriage and teenage pregnancy are mutually compatible. Married teenagers have higher rates of sexual activity compared to their unmarried peers, thus increasing their likelihood of becoming pregnant, especially in the absence of contraception.
Teenage pregnancy has significant negative impacts on both the mother and child, including increased health risks like complications during childbirth, higher infant mortality, reduced educational and economic opportunities, and social and emotional challenges such as stigma and poverty.
Teenage mothers are at higher risk for complications like anaemia, preeclampsia and issues from unsafe abortions. Records have shown that pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death for teenage girls in Nigeria.
Another impact of teenage pregnancy is the tendency for teen mothers to give birth to premature babies, who have a low birth weight and may probably die in their infancy. Their babies may also face lifelong health and development challenges.
Teenage pregnancy impacts negatively on the education of teenagers as it may end up truncating their educational trajectory. Many teenage mothers are less likely to complete their education after they get pregnant, as most of them end up dropping out of school. This also implies limiting their future job prospects.
Teenage pregnancy can also lead to an intergenerational cycle. Children of teen mothers have a higher risk of becoming teen parents themselves, thereby perpetuating the cycle across generations.
Social stigma is another negative implication of teenage pregnancy in the country. Unmarried pregnant teens may face stigma, rejection from peers and family and threats of violence.
There are different ways to deal with the menace of teenage pregnancy, and it starts with parents and guardians.
In contrast to the reactions of the two different mothers illustrated in the opening paragraphs to the shocking discovery of their teenage daughters who got pregnant, parents should exercise some level of restraint and empathy toward their teenage children in such circumstances.
Parents, particularly mothers, should focus on trying to understand how their teenage daughter is feeling at such a moment. Assure her that you are there for her, even if inside you are still angry. There will be enough time to deal with your emotions later. Show you are there for her by calmly asking her to give you details of how it happened, who is responsible and how she feels about the whole thing.
Understandably, hearing such life-changing news about your teenage daughter can be overwhelming for a parent, and it is very easy for the emotion of anger to erupt from within. In such a situation, emotions can go from calm to angry and shocked in a fraction of a second. When that happens, you might find yourself reacting to the situation rather than responding.
When, as a parent, you hear such shocking news, try not to react immediately. Calm down. Keep your anger under subjection and engage your daughter in a friendly manner to get to the roots of the problem. Focus on trying to understand how she is feeling at the moment. Let her know that you are there for her, even if you are still angry inside.
Show you are there for her by asking her to explain to you what happened and how she feels about it. This will allow you to get valuable information from her and avoid the risk of jumping to conclusions.
As a caring mother, find out if the man who impregnated your teenage daughter is already aware and also if his own parents are aware. You may feel very angry toward him at this moment, but try not to vilify him. Making him the enemy could cause a rift between both families that may become impossible to reconcile.
If your daughter decides to keep the baby, planning is critical. The hardest part will come after the birth. If your daughter is still living with you and her dad, then both of you would have to make decisions on several related issues including what the baby’s last name will be, per adventure the man who impregnated her is not ready as in most cases, to take up the responsibility of catering for mother and child; where the teenage mother and her baby will live going forward; the possibility of her going back to school; who looks after the child should you decide she goes back to school and who takes up the financial involvement of catering for both mother and child’s welfare and education.
This chain of decisions is certainly not easy to take, especially because it would most certainly disrupt your personal plans and the course of your life.
