Teenage Mothers, an Increasing Social Phenomenon in Romania. Causes, Consequences and Solutions

Autori:

Smaranda DIACONESCU, Tudor CIUHODARU, Catalin CAZACU, Laszlo-Zoltan SZTANKOVSZKY, Cristina KANTOR, Magdalena IORGA

Cod: ISSN: 1583-3410 (print), ISSN: 1584-5397 (electronic)
Dimensiuni: pp. 162-175

How to cite this article:

Diaconescu, S., Ciuhodaru, T., Cazacu, C., Sztankovszky, L.Z., Kantor, C., Iorga, M. (2015). Teenage Mothers, an Increasing Social Phenomenon in Romania. Causes, Consequences and Solutions. Revista de Cercetare si Interventie Sociala, 51, 162-175.

Abstract:

In 2014 Romania holds the second position in teenage pregnancies among EU with 8500 teen births average per year and a teen birth rate of 39.4 ‰. Maternal and child mortality, school dropping and child abandonment are the most serious consequences of this phenomenon. This paper presents an analysis of the mentioned situation in the last 10 years, in a North-Eastern Children’s Hospital from Romania. A number of 1643 minor mothers (12-17 years old) were hospitalized in order to treat their own children for different diseases. Variables like: age, number of children, clinical data of minor mother and child, educational level or socioeconomic status were taken into consideration. From all teenage mothers, 68.72 % were coming from the rural area and 31.28 % originated the urban area. Age distribution showed that 0.18 % were 12 years old, 0.73 % were 13 years old, 3.83 % were 14 years old, 11.14 % were 15 years old, 26.96 % were 16 years old and 57.15 % were 17 years old. The socioeconomic status and the living conditions were influencing the unwanted pregnancy or “the unknown pregnancy” identified during the hospitalization. A national programme focused on sexual education, medical access policy and family involvement is needed to prevent the higher medical, psychological and social risks of teenage mothers.