“Ever since I knew I had this little thing growing inside me, I was the happiest person in the world.” “This will be my girl no matter what.” “My dream was to be a mother.” “I felt enormous fear.” These are just some of the phrases that are most common among the pregnant adolescents that Escambray found in her investigations. What is happening in today’s society when one of the biggest social problems becomes an everyday occurrence?
The idea of motherhood awakens a feeling of happiness in all women, but it can turn into a nightmare if it happens at an early age due to both physical and mental immaturity. This triggers health risks, since the uterus is not yet ready to gestate and the growth of the body is slowed to be able to develop the baby; They stop carrying out the activities that correspond to their age to play a new role, in addition to not meeting the financial requirements necessary to debut as a mother.
So far this year, the recruitment of pregnant teenagers represents 20.4 percent of the total number of pregnant women in the province, a figure that exceeds last year’s figure by 3.5 percent; a considerable shot in the indicators, although they were already above normal levels.
The main municipality has a high level of incidence, with 56 adolescents in the period of pregnancy, which constitutes 14.2 percent of the total number of pregnant women in the province, according to what Vilma Torres Valdivia, advisor to the Provincial Department of the Maternal Care Program, told Escambray. Children (PAMI).
THE WEIGHT OF EARLY MOTHERHOOD
Adolescence is a complex stage, in which the risks are seen from afar and it is not too important to prevent problems for the future; For a teenager, facing a pregnancy at this stage is like forcing a plant to bloom and immediately letting it wither.
Lisandra Martín Rodríguez, advisor to the Municipal Department of PAMI, points out that one of the problems that arise in this matter is the preconception risk. “This occurs, for the most part, because the adolescent does not visit the Family Doctor’s Office, either due to lack of knowledge about where to go or who her doctor is, denial or undervaluation of the problems by the patient, or inflexible schedules and failures in the summons, which makes the analysis of the young women at this stage difficult and leads to late detection of the pregnancy,” he details.
According to Elizabeth Agramonte Romero, a specialist in Gynecology, the main problems that pregnant teenagers present are the presence of vaginal infections, anemia and hypertensive disease.
The most frequent consequences are the so-called CIUR or hypotrophic, that is, they are below the weight that the fetus should have according to the weeks of gestation.
On the other hand, psychologist Maylen Rensolí Grau points out that psychological risks are generated from the personality of young women and the environment in which they operate. Generally, single mothers, who do not have the support of their family and have to leave their studies, are more likely to develop psychological problems such as anxiety and depression because they are not prepared for this situation and do not have defense mechanisms to face it, he highlights. .
THE NEWS
When confirmation of pregnancy breaks the shocking silence of a waiting room, in which concern and fear predominate, the reactions on the part of those awaiting the news are unpredictable. Testimonies collected by Escambray show the feeling of two teenagers with something in common: an ongoing pregnancy.
“When I found out that I was pregnant I couldn’t stop crying, I felt a terrible fear of what they would say, of how my friends and the neighborhood would see me, but as the days went by, when I realized that little thing that was growing inside “I felt the greatest happiness in the world.”
Thus begins the assimilation of a new life for a young woman who was only 16 years old during her pregnancy; Today, two years after giving birth, she tells us her experience.
“I decided to tell the child’s father first, although I was terrified by his reaction, because he didn’t want to accept it; “Both he and my family supported me and never left me alone,” says this young mother who preferred anonymity with a voice of relief.
“Before accepting the idea that I was going to be a mother,” she added, “I fell into depression, suffered anxiety and lost a lot of weight because at that age I never imagined seeing myself in such a situation and even more so that I had to leave my studies, but with psychological help I was able to get over it. “They are hard days when the child gets sick and you have to be alone in the hospital while you take care of him, no matter what, but his smile became the light that illuminates my life.”
Another is the testimony of an 18-year-old girl who saw her pregnancy in a completely different way from the first moment and, although at 28.2 weeks she reports problems with low weight, she does what is necessary for her child to be born strong and healthy.
“At the time they gave me the confirmation I was accompanied by my mother, we were both very happy about the news, my dream was to be a mother. The girl’s father was also very happy, as it was a goal we set for ourselves since we started living together; Not being forced to abandon my studies due to this situation helped me a lot,” adds the young woman with joy on her face.
SEARCH FOR SOLUTIONS
Based on PAMI statistics, 361 voluntary terminations of pregnancies at these ages have been recorded in the province, whether by surgical, medication or menstrual regulation methods.
Melanie Lorenzo Martínez is an 18-year-old single pregnant woman, disconnected from studies and the work sector, who wanted to find in abortion an immediate way out of the new future that awaited her.
“I found out four days ago that I was pregnant,” she says while letting out a nervous laugh. “It was a late detection of pregnancy at 20.3 weeks,” he details.
“When I discovered it, without thinking, the first thing I did was go to the Curettage Consultation to have an abortion, with so much time I am forced to have it, at that moment I had many mixed emotions, but I already accepted it and this will be my girl no matter what. pass,” he says with certainty.
THE VOICE OF INNOCENCE
In addition to the criteria of specialists, acquired after years of study and experience, there are many different opinions. What do teenagers think about this topic? A survey of the students of the ninth three group of the ESBU 23 de Diciembre, in the municipality of Sancti Spíritus, revealed diverse opinions: “The main cause of pregnancy in adolescence is not protecting oneself and wanting to burn through stages just to get attention”; “It brings risks for us because it causes illnesses inside,” “the children would belong to the grandparents because at this age we do not have money to support them.”
When asked: what would they do if this situation presented themselves to them?, they did not hesitate to answer: “At this age I would never have a child”; “Without thinking I try to abort”; “I quit school and work to support it,” “If my girlfriend tells me she’s pregnant, I leave her, I won’t see her again.”
What is sometimes taken as a simple delay in the menstrual period can become a truncated future; More and more teenagers are facing the harsh reality of pregnancy and there are as many numbers as there are stories of desperation behind them. It is never too late to become aware. The decisions made today represent a before and after, much more so when their lives are just beginning.
