Romania ‘boasts’ a quarter of the EU’s teen moms

Romania has almost a quarter of the teen moms in the European Union, with less than 2 pc of them benefiting of social assistance public services, according to a Save the Children research.

“Almost a quarter (23%) of the moms aged under 18 in the European Union are living in Romania, which thus ranks first on this chapter among the member states. Eurostat data reveal that only in 2018, 8,621 girls became mothers before the age of consent (10-17 years old), while 725 of them hadn’t turned 15 when they gave birth. The situation is the more critical as less than 2 percent of the Romanian teen moms say they have interacted with the social assistance public services,” reads a press release by the NGO.

The survey of the living standards, accommodation and healthcare of the pregnant women, children and mothers with children aged under 5 in the Romanian countryside has been launched by the Save the Children NGO and the Presidential Administration on Tuesday.

The research reveals concerning findings: 83% of the minor mothers were not attending school anymore when they filled in the form. Among them, 64% had dropped out school before getting pregnant.

Around 20% of the minor pregnant girls and mothers said they live in their partner’s house, but less than 2 pc of them are legally married. Almost 70% of the respondents live in a 2-room house at most.

The father when the baby is born, in the case of teen moms, is 5 years older on average (20.6yo). The age of the fathers are ranging from 14 to 39. In 10% of the cases the father himself is minor.