Consequences of Teenage Pregnancy The consequences are discussed under the following sub-headings: 1. Early marriage (medical implications) 2. Educational implications 3. Socio-economic implications 4. Psychological consequences Early Marriage and Medical Implications Marrying before physical and mental has a lot of debilitating effect on the part of the spouses and the women in particular. Studies have shown that, the effects of early marriage sterns from lack of understanding and attack of self-esteem by the mates. Fuisternberge (1976) opined that, early marriage can result to couples lacking acquisition of complex knowledge and skills. Lack of substantial investment of materials resources of the teenager girl and lack of overall knowledge of managing a home are also effects of early marriage. Besides early marriage and the resultant pregnancy may expose the women to medical, educational and socio-economic consequence. Nzeako (1994) summarized the health and social risks of teenage pregnancy includes: Anemic, premature labour, eclipses or fit in pregnancy, high-blood pressure, obstructed labour, higher risk of sexually transmitted infections, such as chlamydia, Gonorrhoea, genital herps, syphillis, trichomonas vaginalis, candidiasis and HIV/AIDS disruption of internal conditions such as vesico vaginal fistula (VVF) which result in incontinence of the bladder and bowel and also depression and psychosis. While on the part of the child, there may be: fetal lose, low birth weight, malnutrition, infection, poor care; due to physical and mental immaturity of the mother. The child may grow up to become battered; this is because the mother may vent her anger and frustration of her unfulfilled dreams on the child. The child may become delinquent later in life due to poor care and lack of disciplinary control. A researcher reported that pregnancy is dangerous to early or young adolescent mothers because their pelvic growth is not yet completed to allow for safe child delivery, (Ihejiamaizu, 1995). Such underage mothers may develop prolonged or obstructed labour. An obvious medical implication of this phenomenon, that may lead to VVF and Rect Vagina fistula (RVF). These conditions arise as a result of prolonged and or obstructed labour emanating from the underdeveloped nature of the mother�s pelvic, the baby in an attempt to force its way out of the womb ruptures the layer of the skin separating the anus and the uterus resulting to continual draining of urine such teenager of VVF victims are psychologically instabled and unable to relate well with the immediate family and friends. Another medical problem associated with early marriage and adolescent pregnancy is a condition known as puerperal psychosis, which occurs after birth. Two types of puerperal psychosis are toxemic sepsis and pyrexia. Peaces (1980) described toxemic sepsis as a state of confusion excrement or delusion in which restlessness and disturbed perception make it impossible for the mother to nurse her baby, while pyrexia refers to as a severe depression which develops some days after the birth of the child follows pyrexia, the mother developed feeling of general inadequacy and may reject the child. Educational Implications The life of adolescent girls are put at risk by pregnancy and child birth whether within or outside marriage. For instance, adolescence pregnancy places a serious limitation on the educational pursuit of the teenager. Due to the cultural orientation of most ethnic groups, parents usually show a Luke warm attitude towards an unmarried teenager that becomes pregnant. The father of the teenager is usually disappointed while the mother is disillusioned because of the assumption that the girl had brought shame and reproach to the family. Arising from this, the chances will be that the educational pursuit of such teenage girl will stop abruptly. She now becomes a dropout and a victim of early marriage, as the parents may be willing to give her out to any needy man under the guise of marriage. This scenario contributes to the educational backwardness of girls in our society. Consequently, this has given rise to the high incidence of illiteracy among girls. It has also brought about lack of skilled women in specialized sector of the economy. This is because a teenage pregnant woman will lose opportunity for advancement in education and meet up with their peers. Socio-Economic Implications Teenage pregnancy disrupts the normal life course of the mother unscheduled parenthood propels the young mother into a role for which she is only casually prepared and often feels unready to assume pregnancy. This situation often leads to divorce, separation and child abandonment. High divorce rate is experienced later in life due to change of values and wanting to catch up with that they missed as teenagers, do not appreciate the demands and sacrifices needed in marriage because of immaturity. There may be wife battering and family conflict following such premature relationship. In addition, precipitate entry parenthood preempts the social and vocational experiences adolescent would otherwise acquire to prepare her for the adult roles including motherhood. Further, compared with a woman who delays child bearing until her 21 years and above, the woman who has first child belong age 20 is more likely to obtain less education, have limited job opportunities and lower income, most likely to be separated or divorced, live in poverty, have health problems and become socially dependent (Rahini and Ram, 1993). Even so a woman social status is considered improve in certain cultures of the developing world as a result of early child bearing in wedlock, culture may expect female to improve their virginity, so that they will not get unwanted pregnancy. According to Castles (1990), a disproportionate number of suicides are committed by pregnant teenagers all over the world. Added to this are instances of violence and neglect suffered by teenager forced to marry because of pregnancy in societies where divorce is unacceptable. The educational, economic, social cost, psychological and physiological consequences of teenage pregnancy. The issue raised here may differ from each society culture, developed and developing countries is more disadvantageous than their counterparts in developed countries. Furthermore, in inadequate or insufficient homes, food means of transport are usually problematic in adolescent in immigrants from rural areas to urban centers and up living in the periphery of cities in shanty and to urban centers lacking portable drinking water, sanitary and health care facilities. It seems a teenage mother either in developed country, living in urban centers need skill for a good paying job. Furthermore, education has been out short, as a result of unintended/unplanned pregnancy suffers set back in economic advancement (Foster, 1993). Pregnancy among the very poor adolescents connotes a vicious circle of poverty in that the poorest females will not likely have children in adolescence and likely remain in poverty. It has been observed that poverty has driven teenage mothers to sell sex for survival of self and child. Psychological Consequences In examining, the psychological implications of adolescent early child bearing, especially out of wedlock, Alvarez (1998) stated that child birth and teenage pregnancy may not only have advance effect on the mother but the baby as well as for the aspects of living sometime tend to be inadequately attainable, housing, food education and health care are always problematic to teenage mother and other associated risks for babies, take for instance, a child which born into crowned out unhealthy environment lack life basic need in the society and the teenage another are usually have disadvantaged and handicapped in day-to-day living in the community infact teenage mothers are typically despite as inadequate parents together with significant risk formal treatment of the teenage pregnancy which attach with social, mental and emotional stress in the country. Many events occur in the life of adolescents that have implication for their sexual behavior. Some of these events includes: Puberty, schooling, age at first intercourse and age at marriage. The trend in recent times is that adolescents are attaining puberty much easier that older generation of adolescents. In recent years, there is decline in age of monarch. The consequences of adolescent untutored sexual behavior among secondary school student includes disruption or premature termination of studies, refusal to acknowledge paternity by the boys, ostracism and rejection by parents, relatives, friends and peril of unsafe abortion or suicide attempts by the girl.
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