16,470 teenagers (up to 19 years old) became mothers in 2020 (according to temporary data released by the National Institute of Statistics), and 392 of them are from Bucharest, according to a Save the Children report. The young age of the mother causes complex health problems, both for the mother and for the newborn.
Pregnancy in adolescence is one of the most current public health problems, being a widespread phenomenon both globally and nationally. In Romania, 16,470 teenagers became mothers in 2020.
Mureș County ranks first in terms of the number of teenage mothers, followed by Dolj, Brașov and Iași. The average age at birth of the first child in the case of adolescent mothers from disadvantaged rural areas in Romania is 16 years and 18 years for the second child. There are mothers who, at less than 23 years old, are already giving birth to their fifth child.
Data from a community survey conducted by Save the Children Romania shows that an overwhelming percentage – 74% of pregnant women or mothers in these communities – say that the main source of income for the family is the child allowance.
Counties with the highest number of teen moms:
- Mureș – 871
- Dolj – 723
- Brașov – 695
- Iași – 656
- Bihor – 614
- Bacău – 586
- Constanța – 556
- Argeș – 489
- Dâmbovița – 480
- Sibiu – 479
- Caraș-Severin – 220
- Brăila și Mehedinți – 213
- Gorj – 190
- Tulcea – 175
More births among teen moms were reported in Romania in 2019 as well. Out of 199,720 births registered in Romania in 2019, 749 come from girls under 15 and 17,933 from teenagers aged 15-19. Statistics show that one in ten newborns in Romania comes from teenage mothers. As a matter of fact, Romania contributes with almost a quarter of mothers under 18 (23%) in the entire European Union.