In Italy, lately, the pregnancies in adolescence 60% have grown and most of the phenomenon concerns the Under 16 band.
The minors who remain pregnant in our country are only 1% of the total of women who give birth (but they would be about double if the IVGs were considered – voluntary interruptions of pregnancy). However, these numbers are nothing compared to England and the United States, where they are around 10%.
According to specific studies that are not yet so widespread by us, it seems that the phenomenon is attributable, among other things, at the high divorce rate, to the increase in abuse and rape on very young people, to the recent “fashion” of considering the baby as a status symbol.
But in the last year, according to the data of the “Save the Children” organization, the numbers have also enormously increased in our country, with peaks especially in Sicily and Campania (71% in Southern Italy), with Lombardy followed.
Sexual relations are increasingly early in current society (average age 15 years), compared to the past boys and girls reach the first sexual maturity Compared to the psycho-social and emotional one, and are therefore unable to take responsibility for the consequences related to their behavior, such as sexually transmitted diseases and/or contraception.
In reality, they would not miss adequate information, or could still access it easily thanks to the media and special didactic programs, but precisely the still childish aspects of their personality, combined with a natural and typical dose of unconsciousness, make sure that frequent risks to become parents without having their skills neither cognitive nor practices.
Moreover, most of these teenagers are found to come from disadvantaged social classesfrom dysfunctional families and with few emotional references, with history of neglect and/or abuse, with economic problems and poor education, and often in turn are daughters of girls mothers teenagers.
For many girls, who grew up in difficult environments, having a child means taking on a role, being recognized as a figure and finding an identity; It is the first opportunity to feel important in their life.
In most cases (3 out of 4 teenagers) they declare that they have not planned or pregnant; In reality, then, they almost always choose to keep the child, despite this involving serious problems on a personal, family and social level.
The pregnant young man can live this period as strongly traumatic For a whole series of factors, first of all those strictly physical (ailments, nausea, changes in physical aspect, etc.) and health (gynecological visits, exams, therapies …), in addition to the inconveniences in the family and in society (find the courage to say it to parents, the fear of their reaction, also inform teachers and peers, the risk of undergoing prejudices, social isolation until school).
Receiving the unexpected news is often a shock that causes emotions such as anger, shame, guilt, anxiety, fear for the future and fear of not being able to take care of the child. The father, often also very young, usually disappears after a while the birth and in any case almost never takes on the role of parent.
This aspect also contributes to creating difficulties for baby mothers and in increasing their suffering and their inconveniences, of which one of the greatest consists in living a conflict between their needs as teenagers and the needs of the child: they only play very little time with the son, they leave him alone in front of the TV, they do not want to give him the bottle, etc. Maybe, for example, they prefer to spend time chatting with friends, they would like to get out shopping or go dancing in the evening.
The youngest girls make greater effort to get in tune with the baby, sometimes they know how to care about it physically (also because they are helped by mothers, family members, etc.), but not emotionally: they cannot console him, talk to him, communicate, etc.
All this because, in fact, they are themselves immature from the psychological point of view. Their body is biologically ready for pregnancy, but not their mind; To be parents it is necessary to stop being “children”, becoming independent, autonomous, responsible, etc. But this does not want to adolescents and cannot do it. Furthermore, being able to continue their studies is almost always impossible, both for time and economic reasons.
The number of teen moms that abandon the school It is 50%, and this negatively influenced their future and their social, family and economic possibilities. In fact, they often remain unemployed or under-occupied, and find themselves in the condition of a second pregnancy in a short time.
According to research, if the baby mothers are not supported by a multidisciplinary group of experts, their children will be neglected, sometimes even mistreated and/or abused, and will be able to meet more serious problems in the long run, such as aggression, depression, learning difficulties, up to difficulty in insertion and violent behavior.
It is very important to follow and help these girls at least in the first two years of the child’s life, also because it has been seen that the grandparents or other reference figures present at home often struggle to be a balanced guide, as they sometimes disinterest or replace totally to the maternal figure, creating confusion in the little one who no longer knows to who to give up, being subjected to rules and stimuli.
Another relevant aspect, already mentioned above, is prejudice and social stigmawell present also to the present day, especially in small provincial urban realities: the pregnant girl is teased, isolated and often her family is “looked badly” and criticized. He loses his friends, he can no longer go out with them, he feels ugly and inadequate because he was fattened, does not recognize his body and is not ready for the quick change of life he has to face.
So he enters confusion and does not know what to do with the newborn, he does not feel up to par, he is afraid if he cries, he cannot talk to him, he does not want it and, at the same time, feels anger for his new condition, since he is tired, he does not sleep anymore, he has no time for herself and to do the normal things of all its peers, without worries or responsibilities.
According to experts, in fact, adolescent mothers have greater risk, compared to mothers over twenty years of age, of stress and even four times higher than post-partum depression; Furthermore, they can have children with genetic anomalies To a statistically superior extent, preterm and/or low weight infants, higher indexes of morbidity/perinatal and child mortality, experimenting with themselves diseases or complications during the pregnancy of a medical nature (anemia, hypertension, nutritional deficiencies, or etc.) and of a obstetric nature (childbirth with prolonged labor, non -programmed cesarean, ostrical fistulas, etc.).
Thanks to Specific support centerson the other hand, which we recommend that you always turn in these cases, have encouraging results: girls spend more time with their children, they are more attentive to their needs, they are less at risk of developing psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression.
