Romania ranks second in the EU on teen moms

Romania ranks second in the European Union (EU) on the birth rate among teenager moms, reads a UNICEF study, conducted with SAMAS Association in Romania.

The study shows that the pregnancy has numerous negative consequences on the future moms, along with social and economic costs.

According to the authors of the study, the phenomenon is cyclic, as it is repeating within the same families, from one generation with another, together with such factors as economic, social and health vulnerability.

In 2019, there were 16, 639 pregnant teen girls in Romania, yet down by 9% as against 2018.

As for teen girls under 15, the number of pregnancies dropped in all regions, except for North-West and North-East regions, where there was an increase of 11%.

At the same time, abortions among girls aged from 15 to 19 stood at 4,290 in 2019, and the age of the first sexual partner is close to the teenage in almost 70% of the cases.

Among teen girls aged from 15 to 19, most the pregnancies in 2019 were in such counties as Mureș (827), Brașov (761), Dolj (700), Iași (691), Bacău (654), Constanța (616), Bihor (593), Suceava (512), Dâmbovița (503) and Prahova (483).

Most of the pregnancies among teen moms are found in people with the lowest level of education (31.7%), three times higher than the ones who graduated the mandatory schooling or high school years.

The report also points out that in the case of young moms of over 15, pregnancies could have been prevented through education and family planning programmes adjusted to the social and cultural environment that these teen girls live in.

UNICEF recommends that classes of sexual and reproduction education should be included in the school curriculum as a compulsory subject.

UNICEF also opines that restructuring family plannings services is needed with the initiation of some friendly services for teenagers and youngsters and with identifying the possibilities of restoring the family planning medical practices.

Moreover, UNICEF proposes that teenagers, especially those in the disadvantaged families, should be provided with birth control services free of any charge.