Magnitude of problems related to adolescent pregnancy

• 50% of Indian women are married before they attain 18 years of age (NFHS 2)
• TFR amongst 15-19 years olds is 19% of the total fertility (NFHS 2)
• Half of the women in India have had their first child before their 20th birthday
• Unmet need of family planning in the 15-19 age group is 27% (NFHS 2)
• 31.7% of pregnant girls below 20 years of age have had NO antenatal checkup
• 58.8% of pregnant girls below 20 years of age have been given iron & folate tablets as part of antenatal care
• 68.1% of all deliveries below 20 years of age are home deliveries
• 28.2% of pregnant adolescent girls are delivered by doctors, 12.6% by ANM/Nurse/Midwife/LHV and 34.7% by TBAs
• Only 18.1% of adolescent mothers have had a post partum checkup within 2 months after birth
• Maternal mortality due to teenage pregnancy is high (Census 2001)
• MMR is 2-5 times more in adolescents than in adults.

Both adolescent pregnancy and birth rates have declined in India over the last few decades but since many adolescents do not have access to contraceptives, the decline has not matched developed countries.

Pregnancy-related complications are the main cause of deaths for 15-19 year old girls and maternal mortality among adolescent girls under 18 years is several times higher than in those aged 18-25 years.

Children born to adolescent mothers also face a higher risk of death, especially during the neonatal and perinatal periods.

An important contributory factor to maternal morbidity and mortality among adolescents is their lack of access to safe abortion services and HIV/AIDS is an ever increasing danger that sexually active adolescents face.