Teenage pregnancy in Jamaica

 Few people would argue with the statement that one of the most precious of all of life's events is the birth of a child. This is certainly the case for a grown adult with an education, a financial future planned, and an emotional support system in place. However when the mother to be is a teenage girl there are concerns and considerations that limit some of the joy usually felt at the news of an impending birth. Teenage pregnancy is currently on downward spiral fortunately, but these young mothers face significant challenges to their futures, their health, and the health of their babies. 

Teenage girls account for nearly one quarter of all births in the West Indian island of Jamaica.

According to the United Nations Population Fund, contraceptive use among Jamaican teens is low. Data from Jamaica's National Family Planning Board shows 66 per cent of all births are not planned and among women under the age of twenty, 40 per cent have been pregnant at least once, and 85 per cent of these pregnancies are unplanned. Despite a strong Christian following in this Caribbean country of 2.6 million, many Jamaicans become sexually active as early as fourteen or younger. Too early sex, according to the Board, is associated with factors such as poverty, absence of male role models at home--nearly half of households are headed by single women--and cultural approval of early child-bearing, particularly in poor communities. Women in poor neighbourhoods who have not had a child by their twenties risk being taunted and labelled 'mules'--or sterile

Despite existing contraceptive distribution projects, many women and girls cannot access contraceptives at the right place, time and price. Young people may be embarrassed to ask and are often prevented from getting them by providers in clinics or pharmacies who can be judgemental, especially regarding sexually active young women. Politicians have not considered that many teens become pregnant involuntarily due to rape or incest, while others have confused sex for love, especially economically dependent girls with older, persuasive men.




Instead of blaming and punishing girls, More education on parenting, sex education and family planning is needed, particularly aimed at adolescents of both sexes, who represent 20 per cent of the population. Society needs to educate people. We have to begin in schools with adolescents, especially in the inner city, so the cycle can be broken'.

An individual has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of his individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity.

Pregnancy in Hiv/ Aids in Jamaica

        

For every thousand pregnant women in Jamaica sixteen are infected with HIV.


Worldwide, it is estimated that more than 15 million children under 18 have been orphaned as a result of Aids. AIDS is responsible for leaving vast numbers of children across the world without one or both parents. The age of orphans, however, is fairly consistent across countries. Surveys suggest that overall about 15% of orphans are 0-4 years old, 35% are 5-9 years old, and 50% are 10-14 years old.




The scale of the orphan crisis is somewhat masked by the time lag between when parents become infected and when they die. If, as expected, the number of adults dying from AIDS rises over the next decade, an increasing number of orphans will grow up without parental care and love.




Children whose parents are living with HIV often experience many negative changes in their lives and can start to suffer neglect, including emotional neglect, long before they are orphaned. Eventually, they suffer the death of their parent(s) and the emotional trauma that results. They may then have to adjust to a new situation, with little or no support, and may suffer exploitation and abuse.




Children grieving for dying or dead parents are often stigmatised by society through association with AIDS. The distress and social isolation experienced by these children, both before and after the death of their parent(s), is strongly exacerbated by the shame, fear, and rejection that often surrounds people affected by HIV and AIDS. Because of this stigma, children may be denied access to schooling and health care. Once a parent dies children may also be denied their inheritance and property. 




Often children who have lost their parents to AIDS are assumed to be HIV positive themselves, adding to the likelihood that they will face discrimination and damaging their future prospects. In this situation children may also be denied access to healthcare that they need. Sometimes this occurs because it is assumed that they are infected with HIV and their illnesses are untreatable.
    
"If you judge people, you have no time to love them."
-- Mother Teresa