‘Too many’ pregnant teens

Paulavette Atkinson from the NCSA educating a group of Parkinson students about drugs through a poster designed by NCSA. (Lennox Devonish)

Thu, February 09, 2012 - 12:04 AM

ALREADY FOR THE year, the Edgar Cochrane Polyclinic has seen approximately eight cases of teenage pregnancy.

A figure which Senior Health Sister Cicely Destang has described as “too high and the year has just started”.

Speaking to the DAILY NATION during an Adolescent Expo the polyclinic organized that targeted Parkinson Memorial, Ann Hill and Polytechnic students, Destang said this number of teenagers ranging between the ages of 16 and 18 were “a lot more than last year”.

“We ask them have you used contraceptives or do you know anything about contraceptive and they say: ‘What?’ They are fully aware of STD’s and STI’s but when it comes to contraceptives to prevent that pregnancy a lot of them don’t know. And the fact that they are pregnant means that they are exposed to STI’s/STD’s.”

She added: “We never encourage abortion.

We always bring the parents in with them and we say to the parents there are alternatives such as adoption, there are social services where they can get financial help. And we try to encourage the young people to stay in school despite the pregnancy.”

The health sister indicated that she believed the ongoing trend of teenage pregnancy stemmed from the fact that young people were being exposed to a lot more sexuality, adding that they needed positive guidance.

As a result of these eight cases, the polyclinic staged the expo to educate the students about issues such as sexuality, crime and violence in society and nutrition, amongst others.

“And we are going to take young people who are pregnant and have a session with them. We are going to bring in a psychologist as well. We want to find out what is causing the pregnancies.

There is no point in us sitting and assuming, we want to find out from them why the early pregnancy. Find out about whatever challenges we are having,” said Destang. (AH)

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Posted by Kenneth King 3 months, 2 weeks ago: Come on girls and boys you can do better than that, never say it can never happen to me, you have a responsibility to make changes in your life and for the development of your country. Do not make the same mistakes as others did making the wrong decisions and today paying for it; no fathers around or not being able to pay child support and there you are alone also without means of providing for that child. Life is about making the right decision that will determine your future, those born in the 50’s are heading for retirement and your contribution to society and your very own children depends on the choices you make and also when you reach that part of your life.
I am not saying you cannot have sex because it’s not my business to tell you that, you are responsible for your own destiny, therefore show responsibility by having safe sex and the use of protective measures while being involved in sexual activity. The day will come when you become mothers and father’s and will be happy to see how great and proud parents you are by doing the right thing. You have today the internet, it is not for all foolish things, there is lots of information in there to give you enough tools to prepare you for a better life; check a few sites on young mothers and the difficulty they have struggling to make ends meet. Do not let this happen to you and show other you can make a difference.

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Posted by Rochelle Taitt 3 months, 2 weeks ago: The age of consent is 16 after all! When I read the headline I expected to read an article about 13-14 yr olds being pregnant.

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Posted by Monica Wilkinson 3 months, 2 weeks ago

“And we are going to take young people who are pregnant and have a session with them. We are going to bring in a psychologist as well. We want to find out what is causing the pregnancies”.

I know what is causing the pregnancies- having sex without using any form of contraceptive. I do not believe that in 2012,16-18 years do not know about contraceptive. Get to them before they get to you.

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Posted by Doreen Stoute 3 months, 2 weeks ago

“We want to find out what is causing the pregnancies.”

Really? I don’t think that question is the one that needs to be asked. We know what is causing the pregnancies. What we want to find out is why are these girls not using protection? With easy access to contraception today pregnant teens shouldn’t be commonplace. I would say either they’re not getting the message, they’re not applying it, or they’re not being sufficiently educated. The first message to these girls should be if you MUST be sexually active, then get and use adequate protection. I assume it is freely available in Barbados. How can a 16 or 18 year old not know about contraceptives but know about STDs and STIs? I’m scratching my head, because at some point in the conversation these topics must come up.

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Posted by Mel Mapp 3 months, 2 weeks ago: These young women are facing extreme peer pressure and are also constantly being bombarded by negative imagery by so called stars and other types. We witness it on some smut TV shows portraying it “cool” to have babies with no fathers around to help in the nurturing of the child.
Some are babies themselves and when faced with “babies having babies” it can be a downward spiral for the community and the social fabric of the country who is then burdened with the task of supporting them. That said, where are the fathers of the babies? Proactive measures should be in place to help these young teens.