Teenage Pregnancy : The Pain or joy of Motherhood

For any teenage girl, teenage pregnancy is very stressful. It is not only her physical health that suffers, a serious restructuring is taking place at the psychological level. The body of a teenager 11-17 years old has not yet fully formed to endure the additional load without consequences.

Causes of early teenage pregnancy

The society maintains the opinion that young girls become pregnant early due to their promiscuity, lack of sober thinking. This is an erroneous assumption. It is not worth showing aggression in such a situation, demonstrating a disdainful attitude towards adolescents who are faced with a problem. Early pregnancy can result in a number of situations.

📢 Sex education: In matters of education, a formal approach is not allowed. When it comes to issues of puberty, you need to be especially careful here. Often, parents are embarrassed to touch on this topic, they cannot find enough time to talk with their daughter about sexual relations, talk about dangerous sexually transmitted diseases, explain how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies. If parents decide to talk to their child, then, as a rule, everything ends with one conversation. In fact, sex education should be continuous. An important role here is played by trust between parents and daughter, adults should explain the physiological and psychological problems of early pregnancy in an accessible, without pressure, answer the child's questions without hesitation and reproaches, even if they seem uncomfortable.

📢 Sexual emancipation of society: Today, content from the 18+ series is available to almost every teenager. In society, there is no ban on demonstrating sexuality, it is constantly fueled by advertising, the topic of sex is discussed in the film industry, bloggers write about it, TV shows are shot, etc. Parents' attempts to restrict access to such information by installing specialized computer programs are ineffective, since annoying advertisements and links to content of questionable content permeate everywhere.

📢 Disregard for safety rules: Contraception is not a topic that teens are primarily interested in when they start sex. Yes, young people know that it is necessary to protect themselves, however, due to their age, they are embarrassed to use basic contraceptives, do not know enough skills in this matter, and sometimes completely forget to take care of their safety and the safety of their partner.

📢 Immaturity in a relationship: One of the most common reasons for the early onset of sexual activity is the desire of a girl to keep a loved one. Such relationships are unhealthy, but this is the only way a girl can feel loved and desired. Often, adolescents are embarrassed to offer contraceptives to their partners, which can result in an unplanned pregnancy.

There are also more terrible reasons for early sexual intercourse associated with violence, coercion into sexual relations. There are also a lot of examples when girls have sex, feeling love for a partner, and a couple, upon learning about pregnancy, are sincerely happy about this event.

In any case, whatever the cause of pregnancy, the girl needs to feel support from loved ones. It is important that she can openly talk about her situation without hearing reproaches and insults from adults. Parents should understand that emotions have no place in this matter, and that a girl who finds herself in a similar situation is much more frightening than adults who have already taken place in life.

Signs of pregnancy in minors

The first experience of an intimate relationship or unprotected intercourse is one of the important reasons to contact a gynecologist. But girls, due to circumstances, do not take this step, they are afraid of the condemnation of adults, they do not want to listen to the lectures of doctors, who sometimes communicate rudely with young patients. When a girl trusts her mother and maintains close contact with her, in such a situation it is much easier to tell a loved one about everything, to go with him to see a doctor, being sure that no one will give you an offense.

If the visit to the doctor is postponed, then special medical tests will help to establish the fact of pregnancy. They are sold in any pharmacy, in large supermarkets they can be found in intimate hygiene departments.

There are also objective signs by which you can determine the presence of pregnancy:

📢 absence of menstruation (in certain cases, the method is not informative, since many adolescents are characterized by menstrual irregularities).

📢 exacerbation of taste and smell (because of this, nausea often occurs).

📢 increased sensitivity, hardening of the mammary glands.

📢 an increase in the volume of the abdomen.

📢 vomiting, most often in the morning.

📢 Excessive fatigue, feeling of weakness, drowsiness.

📢 frequent urge to urinate.

📢 mood swings.

Features of the course of teenage pregnancy

In an adult woman, the course of pregnancy differs from that of a teenager, whose body is not fully formed.

The features of early pregnancy include:

📢 There is a high likelihood of complications in the process of bearing a fetus, which is why several specialists should observe the girl at once.

More careful management of pregnancy, since the gynecologist needs not only to observe the patient, but to plan her diet, select specialized drugs for the healthy development of the baby.

📢 Possible problems with breastfeeding, which arise due to the immaturity of the girl's body.

📢 There is a high likelihood of premature birth, which is why adolescent mothers are sent to the hospital much earlier than usual - no later than 36 weeks of pregnancy.

Diagnosis of early adolescent pregnancy

Usually adolescent pregnancy is diagnosed late. This is due to the fact that up to 55% of girls are not even aware of their delicate situation, or they deliberately hide this fact. As a result, adolescents come to a consultation with an obstetrician-gynecologist at a later date, and up to 11% of pregnant women do not register at all.

The diagnosis of teenage pregnancy is not different from the procedures for adult women. To confirm this condition, girls in the absence of menstruation are prescribed:

📢 Gynecological examination. On the chair, the doctor palpates the uterus to determine its size, determines the softening of the isthmus, and assesses the mobility of the cervix. With the help of mirrors, the gynecologist assesses the condition of the mucous membrane, identifies signs of possible infections.

📢 Ultrasonography. It is the most informative and reliable way to establish pregnancy. In the process of ultrasound, the doctor determines the presence of the ovum in the uterus, assesses the condition of the placenta, membrane. Screening at different stages of pregnancy makes it possible to observe the pregnancy in dynamics, and thanks to fetometry, the development of the fetus is studied.

📢 Additional analyzes. To protect the expectant mother and baby, it is important to exclude the possibility of inflammation and infection. For this purpose, they additionally take a smear from the vagina, material for bacterial culture, diagnose by PCR, TORCH, RIF, ELISA methods.

What to do: keep or terminate the pregnancy?

The final decision must be made only after the girl has been examined by the gynecologist. The specialist will assess the health of the teenager, analyze the development of pregnancy, its duration.

Neither physiologically, nor morally young girls are not ready for childbirth and motherhood. And no matter what decision is made, the consequences are rarely avoided.

When deciding to terminate a pregnancy, you should remember a few points:

📢 Abortion is a serious psychological trauma.

difficulties with subsequent conception are likely, up to infertility.

📢 Hormonal balance is disturbed.

📢 Immunity falls, destabilization of the endocrine system occurs.

📢 The risk of puncture of the uterus increases due to its underdevelopment.

📢There is a risk of developing serious inflammation.

📢 There is a possibility of incomplete removal of the ovum.

📢 The menstrual cycle gets lost.

Keeping a pregnancy, a girl may face the following problems:

📢 change in the usual way and rhythm of life.

📢 The need to take care of the baby, for which the girl is not mentally ready.

📢 Psychological discomfort caused by judgments from other people.

📢 Lack of funds, since not all parents are able to help, some refuse help at all.

📢 Lack of maternal feelings for the child due to the emotional immaturity of the girl.

Features of the management of pregnancy in minors

Having determined the presence of pregnancy, having precisely established its duration, the doctor should consult the patient and her parents about the peculiarities of pregnancy management and methods of delivery.

Taking into account various factors and based on the wishes of the expectant mother, the following options are possible:

📢 Bearing a fetus and natural childbirth:

Pregnancy management in adolescents involves the implementation of the same protocols and recommendations that apply to adult patients. Almost 90% of girls have every chance of giving birth naturally. Only in 10% of cases in adolescents there is a serious narrowing of the pelvis and the discrepancy between its size and the baby's head, which can cause premature birth.

📢 Carrying a fetus and subsequent cesarean section:

The young age of the patient should not be taken as an indication for a caesarean section, the decision on such an intervention should be based on objective facts and in each case is made individually. As in adult women, adolescents undergo a caesarean section only if they have labor disorders that cannot be corrected conservatively, there are signs of fetal hypoxia, or the mother’s pelvis is too narrow.

In the process of monitoring a pregnant patient, the task of an obstetrician-gynecologist is not only to assess the health of the expectant mother and her baby, but also to influence the overall lifestyle. It is important to tell the teenager about the importance of a correct, balanced diet, choose the right diet for the girl and motivate her to follow the diet. The issue of the inappropriateness of alcohol, drugs, and smoking in this state is discussed separately. You also need to touch on the hygiene of intimate life, talk about the need to prevent genital infections, psychologically prepare a young patient for the upcoming birth.

To reduce the risk of complications in pregnant adolescents, it is recommended to be admitted to obstetric departments at 37-39 weeks of gestation. The prognosis for childbirth is favorable for most young girls. Considering the age and physiological characteristics of the body, the duration of pregnancy in girls averages 37.9 weeks, which is slightly shorter than in adult women.

Prevention of early pregnancy

It is important and necessary to talk with adolescents about methods of contraception, tell them about genital infections, the possible consequences of unprotected sex. However, due to their age, young people are windy about this topic, they live in the present, do not think about the future, therefore they often do not attach importance to such issues.

Much more can be achieved if parents or other adults in the family can build trust with the child. A teenager should feel support from the outside, it is important for her to know what in any situation she has, who to turn to and who to consult.

It is understanding, unobtrusive participation in the girl's life that becomes the main factor that can save her from an unplanned pregnancy.