Girls under 17 medically too young to get pregnant: Doctor

A DOCTOR has warned that teenaged girls below 17 are medically too young to get pregnant.
University of PNG Medical School Prof Dr Glen Mola said they often experienced complications during childbirth which required operations which could affect them for the following 20 years.
“They will have problems giving birth to children in the future,” he said
He said in most cases, the first pregnancy would be unplanned. The girl becomes pregnant after a few of months of sexual relationship with a boyfriend or partner.
“In such cases, the female’s body is not used to the male antigens, hence it will lead to placenta problems and high blood pressure in the young woman,” Mola said.
“The mother is affected, the baby is affected and a lot of problems arise.”
He said there would be associated social problems faced by the teenager which could be difficult to cope with.
“The boyfriend runs away afraid of taking the responsibility, (or) the relationship is not approved by the family, (or) the girl leaves school. And when she decides to continue, she feels out of place and most of the time the parents cancel her education,” Mola said.
“Unplanned teenage pregnancy throws the girl’s aspirations of being a doctor, nurse, teacher or whatever out of the window.
“These leads to depression, low self-esteem and even suicidal feelings. And that’s when some think about abortion.
“Removing the pregnancy and giving birth to the child and dealing with the effects are both bad options that the teenage pregnant woman is caught in between.”