Almost half of the girls in the EU who become mothers by the age of 15 are from Romania

45% of the births registered among girls under the age of 15 in the European Union come from Romania, informs the organization Save the Children Romania, showing that our country remains in the first place in the EU27 and in terms of the mortality rate for children under one year.

Of the 198,302 births registered in Romania in 2020 according to the final INS data, 731 were to girls under 15 and 17,366 to girls aged 15-19. Statistics show that one out of ten newborns in Romania comes from teenage mothers. Moreover, our country contributes more than a quarter of mothers under 18 (30%) from the entire European Union and 45% of mothers under 15, according to the data presented by Save the Children.

“In 2020, 731 girls under the age of 15 became mothers, the top being the counties of Mureş (63 mothers under the age of 15), Bihor and Dolj (52) and Braşov (40). At the same time, two out of 10 teenage mothers have more than one child, and 32% of them state that their mother was a minor when she gave birth to them, according to the most recent survey carried out by Save the Children Romania. Statistics show that one out of ten newborns in Romania comes from teenage mothers, which exponentially increases the risk of prematurity and infant mortality”, says the NGO.

Despite some obvious progress, Romania continues to hold the first place in the EU27 in terms of the mortality rate for children under one year, the value reached in 2020 according to INS data (5.6/1000 live births) being practically similar with the average rate of the old European Union from about 20 years ago.

Lack of medical services, lack of education

Moreover, the organization Save the Children states, according to the data of the National Federation of Family Physician Associations, 53% of the localities in Romania do not have a family doctor at all or do not have enough family doctors and many pregnant women from disadvantaged rural areas they resort to self-medication during pregnancy, do not go to the doctor for proper recording and monitoring of the pregnancy and wait until their condition precipitates or worsens.

Regarding the county distribution of births to mothers under the age of 15, according to the final INS data for 2020, the first places are: Mureş (63 mothers under the age of 15), Bihor (52) and Dolj (52 ), followed by Braşov (40), Argeş (29), Sibiu (28), Bacău (26), Constanţa (24), Satu Mare (23), Dâmboviţa (22 girls under 15 became mothers in 2020).

Save the Children also shows that 85% of mothers and pregnant women under the age of 18 no longer go to school, most of them dropping out before pregnancy, one in 10 mothers or pregnant minors has never been to school, 75% of pregnant women and mothers minors dropped out of school in gymnasium.

Also, four out of 10 pregnant women or underage mothers do not access other medical services, except for family medicine, during pregnancy, 80% of pregnant women or mothers under 18 did not use any contraceptive method because they did not have information about their use, 75% of underage mothers or pregnant women have relatives or acquaintances who gave birth under the age of 18, 32% of these state that their mother was a minor when she gave birth to them, and two out of 10 underage mothers have more than one child.

The average age of the father of the children of minor mothers is 21 years at the level of the entire sample, respectively 22 years if the father is of age, the average income of the families of minor mothers being 1,160 lei, and approximately 50% of the families of minor mothers having an income below 1,000 lei and only 12% over 2,000 lei.