Teenage pregnancies in C/R worrying – Dr. Asare

The Medical Director of the Central Regional Hospital, Dr. Daniel Asare, has expressed concern about teenage pregnancies, which is on the increase in the region and called for concerted efforts by stakeholders to stem it.

He said pregnancies of girls between the ages of eleven and 14 years is becoming a very worrying trend to health authorities in the region, revealing that it increased from 165 in 2011 to 268 last year.

Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency in Cape Coast on Friday, Dr. Asare questioned if teen pregnancies are defilement cases and if so why is civil society, the Department of Social Welfare, mothers, doctors and midwives looking on unconcerned.

From the year 2010, teenage pregnancies progressed from 12, 064 to 13,059 in 2011, then to 13,780 last year.

Dr. Asare warned that teenagers who get pregnant, risk additional medical concerns since their pelvis may not be well developed.

He said the utilization of anti-natal care for teenagers was a problem, likewise the risk of low birth rate, and there was also the social stigma, leading to criminal abortions; and there are normally poorer life outcomes in children of teenage mothers.

He said the US, UK and New Zealand, have the highest level of teenage pregnancies in the developed world whilst Japan and Korea has the lowest.

Dr. Asare called for rigorous sex education for teens for them to appreciate the need to guard against unwanted pregnancies.