I was only a few weeks into my specialist training when I began to encounter young patients who were suffering from the results of STDs. The unrealistic view that one can have risk-free sexual liaisons is rampant in North America and many other parts of the world. While an unplanned pregnancy becomes rapidly evident, many of the consequences of having an STD do not show up immediately and some may not be apparent for years.
I recall hearing a mother comment "I just want to make sure that neither of my daughters get pregnant and that my son doesn't get some girl in trouble!" Most people, however, are completely unaware of the devastating results of STDs and of the overwhelming number of sexually active teenagers and adults who suffer from these very common infections. I have heard many parents express concern about their teenagers becoming pregnant. Most people are aware that teen pregnancy often leads to problems and challenges. however, most people are completely unaware of the devastating results of STDs and of the huge number of young people who suffer from them. Most people know that unplanned teen pregnancy is a big problem. Jocelyn Elders stated that preventing teen pregnancy was her top priority: "eighty percent of our poverty is related to unplanned, unwanted pregnancies" and "ninety per cent of the young men in prison between 19-35 were born to teenaged mothers."(4) While on an individual basis, I have seen teen moms who find their motherhood to be an unexpected motivation to seek further education and strive to do their very best, the challenges faced by these young mothers are frequently overwhelming. In addressing the American Academy of Paediatrics, a former U.S.
According to an article in the prestigious journal, Adolescent Medicine, "adolescent girls who become mothers are more likely to drop out of school and have low educational attainment to face unemployment, poverty, and welfare dependency to experience more rapid repeat pregnancy to become single mothers and to experience divorce, if they marry."(2) The cycle of difficulties continues as the children of teen mothers have a much higher incidence of a variety of problems including prematurity, infant death, developmental problems and behavioral difficulties. Although at that point in my career I did not know the facts and the figures related to teen pregnancy, I was struck by the phenomenon of 'children having children' and I wondered what the future held for this twelve-year-old and her tiny infant.Īlthough not the topic of this book, unintended teen pregnancy is a monumental problem for our society. I wondered how this young girl with minimal life experience and no apparent family support could possibly raise a child. The young mother steadfastly insisted that she wanted the baby and was not interested in giving the infant up for adoption. I found out that she had become pregnant when she was eleven the baby's father was a fourteen-year-old boy who had since found another girlfriend.
Over the next few days, I spent a lot of time talking to this young teen. The young mother, who had no family or friends with her, turned out to be twelve
Five minutesĪfterwards, with the help of two nurses, I delivered the first baby of my career. Later, a couple of paramedics wheeled in a young girl in active labour. Of a sudden the phone rang alerting the nurses to an imminent arrival and, minutes