http://www.guatemala-times.com/health/global-health/3389-preventing-maternal-mortality-a-complications.html
Babies having Babies
Every year, 16 million girls between 15-19 give birth before they really are ready to. In many countries, having a child as an adolescent can nearly double your risk of maternal death. Conditions and complications from pregnancy is the 2nd most common cause of death among young females. Severe bleeding, infections, unsafe abortion and high blood pressure conditions are four of the main factors that cause 70 percent of deaths. In all, over 358,000 women die per year and most of these are preventable. Among these data, this article provides more and more data, seemingly to inform the masses. Unsafe abortions is one of the most astonishing topics I thought that this article had to include. WHO defines unsafe abortion as a “procedure for terminating a pregnancy that is performed by an individual lacking the necessary skills, or in an environment that does not conform to minimal medical standards, or both.” There are over 18 million of these unsafe abortions held worldwide yearly. The article then goes on to say that education is directly related to the health of these women, and their children. The education of mothers is directly related to their health and their childs health, and in turn, has other positive effects, being educated and healthy helps create less of a burden on healthcare delivery systems and overall improves society. With this article, hopefully the young women of today will read through it and become informed for the next generation.
The most simple way to stop teen pregnancy is birth control. In many countries this isn't an option because they don't have the money to buy it, or the local markets don't have it. Either way, we should help get birth control to areas of the world that need it. If we can't get them birth control, then we should educate them about the risks of unprotected sex. It is a simple way to get people to not have sex and very effective.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Will. Birth control should be readily available to all young girls who want it, as should young men have access to condoms. Young adults are going to continue to have sex, and the best way to make sure they do it safely and responsible is to provide them with the tools to do so. Public education should evaluate its teachings about teen sex, and consider making reforms to more closely reflect the views of todays teens.
ReplyDeleteIn most of the countries where this is a problem are countries where gender inequalities prevent women from getting an education and these young girls are forced into arranged marriages and have no say in their pregnancies. Although it may seem like a simple solution to just hand out birth control and educate the women about safe sex, these methods are not applicable within their households because of their male dominant culture where women dont make decisions about themselves, it is the husband and the mother in law that sets the rules.
ReplyDeleteAlong with birth control needs to come education of how the reproductive system works for all members of the society. If the teens don't fully understand why they are using the birth control it is likely they will not use it because they see it as something that doesn't really affect them and a nuisance. Its very easy to dismiss safety precautions when someone doesn't understand what and why they're important. It can be equated to seat belts, many people don't wear seat belts even though there is a plethora of data showing the death rate in an accident is greatly reduced when wearing a seat belt. Many people see it as an attack on their rights and thus see it as something they refuse or begrudgingly use. The same thing happens with birth control, young people see it as a hindrance because they don't understand fully how or why birth control will help them.
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