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-This article focuses in Thailand's high Teen Pregnancy rate. It criticizes both the cultural difference made between genders and how Thailand “tries” to lower this rate. By providing health classes and all sorts of sexual protection but yet it is seen as morally wrong to the community. Health classes are provided with limited discussion and hours given to the class by year the lack of discussion is major in Thailand although they have the resources the state of mind is just not their. For more information visit:

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BANGKOK, March 8 (Reuters) - When Mallika told her parents she was pregnant at 17, they pulled her out of school and ordered her to marry the baby's father. But the marriage didn't happen and the one-time aspiring singer now cares for her baby girl alone.

"I love her, but at the time I hid in shame," said Mallika, now 23 and a vendor of cheap, made-in-China clothing at a weekend market in Thailand's capital, Bangkok.

"The boy's family wanted to pay me to shut up and stay away from them. We were both children ourselves," she added, sitting in her dilapidated apartment overlooking a highway on the outskirts of Bangkok.

Mallika's situation is, sadly, far from unusual. Thailand's teenage pregnancy rate is the highest in Southeast Asia after neighbouring Laos, according to the Bureau of Reproductive Health at the Thai Public Health Ministry.

In fact, even though the overall birthrate is dropping, teen births are on the rise. Out of every 1,000 live births, 54 are from teen mothers aged 15-19 - higher than in the United States and ten times higher than Singapore's teen pregnancy rate.

What's more, it's rising fast. The number of live births by Thai teenage mothers aged 15-18 increased 43 percent between 2000 and 2011, a Thai annual public health report shows.

Though there are many factors responsible, health experts put weight on cultural mores that make frank discussion of the issue difficult, whether in an official context or a personal one. This is complicated by gender issues.

"Women are told to protect their virginity but Thai men who have multiple sexual encounters are seen as cool," said Visa Benjamano, a commissioner at the Thai National Human Rights Council (NHRC).

"If men sleep around, their image is not at stake whereas a woman's image is. Women are generally more afraid to discuss their sexual health needs in public."

LACK OF DISCUSSION

Although sexual education is part of the national school curriculum, teaching is clearly insufficient. The Education Ministry limits instruction on the subject to eight hours a year despite changing attitudes towards sex among the young.

"Teachers are prudish and out of touch with Thai kids today and they approach the topic like a biology class rather than talking about the emotional issues involved," said Visa.

The consequences of unplanned pregnancy are often left out of classroom teaching too, despite a lack of legal options.

A 2011 report by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Thailand's National and Economic and Social Development Board (NESDB) shows the number of women hospitalised in connection with abortions increased by over 16 percent between 1994 and 2009, hitting 60,000 in 2009.

Yet abortion is illegal in Thailand except in cases of rape or incest, to save a woman's life or preserve her physical or mental health, and if the woman is under 15 years of age.

Under Thai law the penalty for performing illegal abortions is up to five years in prison or a fine of up to 10,000 baht ($340). Despite this, illegal clinics and back street abortions abound.

In 2010, Thai police found 2,000 foetuses on the grounds of a Bangkok Buddhist temple.They were believed to have been sent there from illegal abortion clinics.

The discovery left the Thai public grappling with the reality of a highly charged religious and social issue. Abortion is recognised as a "sin" in the Theravada Buddhism practiced by up to 95 percent of the population.

Unlike the predominantly Catholic Philippines, Thailand offers easy access to contraception and birth control pills, with condoms and most other contraceptives readily available and sold over the counter.

But when it comes to teenage girls getting them, social stigma gets in the way.

Kanya Musiket was 15 when she started a physical relationship with a boy in her neighbourhood. But when she ventured to a local shop to buy condoms, shopkeepers would look at her "disapprovingly," making her feel ashamed.

OVERSEAS HELP?

In a bid to find solutions, a Thai delegation visited Britain in November 2012, looking to emulate programmes there.

The number of babies born to teen mothers in England dropped by 27 percent between 2000 and 2010 and overall conception by teens fell by 25 percent between 1999 and 2010. Some areas, like Hackney in East London, showed reductions of over 40 percent.

This was due largely to a 1999 government plan aiming to halve England's under 18 conception rate by 2010. The plan used local grants and guidelines, government funds to improve access to contraceptives and media campaigns to raise awareness.

By contrast, Thailand issued a population strategy plan in 2012 that focuses on reducing teen births but does not include either target reduction goals or concrete ways to do so.

There are university-led sexual health awareness programs, and the UNFPA is trying to raise awareness through both civil and private networks. Yet the most fundamental measure is the hardest to achieve: changing attitudes.

"This is about trusting the moral standards of those young people whom we have invested years of education and nurturing - our children," said Caspar Peek, UNFPA Representative for Thailand and Country Director for Malaysia.

"We need everyone ... to see this as a challenge to development and not just something bad that happens to teenagers because they do 'bad' things." ($1 = 29.8000 Thai baht) (Editing by Elaine Lies)

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pharmaceuticals and medical research (trbc)

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Thailand struggles to curb high teen pregnancy rate

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When Mallika told her parents she was pregnant at 17, they pulled her out of school and ordered her to marry the baby's father. But the marriage didn't happen and the one-time aspiring singer now cares for her baby girl alone.

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UNICEF states the health risk factors  that  African Pregnant woman encounter  like

Maternal Mortality ( Risk of Mother Dying in Labor  girl under 18 have a higher chance ) , Woman’s nutritional status( Women with poor nutrition when  pregnant give birth to low birth weight babies ) , and  HIV/AIDS ( High rate on teens due to the fact of difficulty in possessing contraceptives) Overall the fact of low poverty and care seems to be the issue in Africa .

For more information visit:

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UNICEF Eastern and Southern Africa - Gender - Gender and health

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Gender equality in families, communities and society at large has a direct impact on women's health. Children's chances to survive the most critical first 28 days in life largely depend on the health and nutritional status of their mother as well as on the care and support she receives during pregnancy, labour and immediately after giving birth.

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The United States of America has lowered its rate of Teen Pregnancies over the past years. It also states that the U.S is trying to avoid the Young Mothers to become pregnant again in their teenage years. By showing Statistics by race and estimation around states it makes its case clear . Towards the end of the article  it gives some kind of thought on why teens tend to get pregnant at such an early age factors like devotion in education and “behaviors like parent “ seems to contribute a lot in this issue. To learn more see:

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Teen Births

In 2014, there were 24.2 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 249,078 babies born to females in this age group. Nearly 89 percent of these births occurred outside of marriage. The 2014 teen birth rate indicates a decline of nine percent from 2013 when the birth rate was 26.5 per 1,000. The teen birth rate has declined almost continuously over the past 20 years. In 1991, the U.S. teen birth rate was 61.8 births for every 1,000 adolescent females, compared with 24.2 births for every 1,000 adolescent females in 2014. Still, the U.S. teen birth rate is higher than that of many other developed countries, including Canada and the United Kingdom.

Not all teen births are first births. In 2014, one in six (17 percent) births to 15- to 19-year-olds were to females who already had one or more babies. Avoiding repeat teen births is one of the goals of OAH's Pregnancy Assistance Fund (PAF) grant program to States and Tribes. Grantees may use PAF funds to help pregnant and parenting teens complete high school or earn postsecondary degrees, as well as to gain access to health care, child care, family housing, and other critical supports. The money can also be used to improve services for pregnant women who are victims of domestic violence and to increase public awareness and education efforts surrounding teen pregnancy prevention, among other activities. Through PAF grants, OAH also supports several public and private organizations working with adolescent males who become young fathers. Find more information about the Pregnancy Assistance Fund.

Variations in Teen Birth Rates Across Populations

Teen birth rates differ substantially by age, racial and ethnic group, and region of the country. Most adolescents who give birth are 18 or older; in 2014, 73 percent of all teen births occurred to 18- to 19-year-olds. Birth rates are also higher among Hispanic and black adolescents than among their white counterparts. In 2014, Hispanic adolescent females ages 15-19 had the highest birth rate (38 births per 1,000 adolescent females), followed by black adolescent females (34.9 births per 1,000 adolescent females) and white adolescent females (17.3 births per 1,000 adolescent females) (see Figure 1). Estimates from 2013 data show that 11 percent of adolescent females in the United States will give birth by her 20th birthday, with substantial differences by race/ethnicity: 8 percent of white adolescent females, 16 percent of black adolescent females, and 17 percent of Hispanic adolescent females.

Although Hispanics currently have the highest teen birth rates, they have also had a dramatic recent decline in rates. Since 2007, the teen birth rate has declined by 50% for Hispanics, compared with declines of 44% for blacks and 36% for whites.

Figure 1: Birth rates per 1,000 females ages 15-19, by race/ethnicity, 1990-2014
Source: Martin, J.A., Hamilton, B.E., & Ventura, S. J. (2015). Births: Final Data for 2014. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
Table 1: Birth rates per 1,000 females ages 15-19, by race/ethnicity, 1990-2014

Substantial geographic variation also exists in adolescent childbearing across the United States. In 2013, the lowest teen birth rates were reported in the Northeast, while rates were highest in states across the southern part of the country (see Figure 2). See how your state compares on birth rates, pregnancy rates, sexual activity, and contraceptive use with OAH's reproductive health state fact sheets.

Figure 2: Teenage birth rates for 15 - 19 year olds by state, 2014
Source: Martin, J. A., Hamilton, B. E., Ventura, S. J., & Osterman, M. J. K. S.C., & Mathews, T.J (2015). Births: Final data for 2014. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics.
Table 2: Teenage birth rates for 15-19 year olds by state, 2014

Teen Pregnancies

The national teen pregnancy rate has declined almost continuously over the last two decades. The teen pregnancy rate includes pregnancies that end in a live birth, as well as those that end in abortion or miscarriage (fetal loss).* Between 1990 and 2010 (the most recent year for which data are available), the teen pregnancy rate declined by 51 percent-from 116.9 to 57.4 pregnancies per 1,000 teen girls. According to recent national data, this decline is due to the combination of an increased percentage of adolescents who are waiting to have sexual intercourse and the increased use of contraceptives by teens.

About 77 percent of teen pregnancies are unplanned. In other words, they are unwanted or occurred "too soon," according to a national survey of adolescents. In 2010, the majority of pregnancies to adolescent females ages 15-19 in the United States-an estimated 60 percent-ended in a live birth; 15 percent ended in a miscarriage; and 30 percent ended in an abortion. The rate of abortions among adolescents is the lowest since abortion was legalized in 1973 and 66 percent lower than its peak in 1988.

* The teen pregnancy rate is the sum all live births, abortions and miscarriages (or fetal losses) per 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19 in a given year.

Characteristics Associated with Adolescent Childbearing

Numerous individual, family, and community characteristics have been linked to adolescent childbearing. For example, adolescents who are enrolled in school and engaged in learning (including participating in after-school activities, having positive attitudes toward school, and performing well educationally) are less likely than are other adolescents to have or to father a baby. At the family level, adolescents with mothers who gave birth as teens and/or whose mothers have only a high school degree are more likely to have a baby before age 20 than are teens whose mothers were older at their birth or who attended at least some college. In addition, having lived with both biological parents at age 14 is associated with a lower risk of a teen birth. At the community level, adolescents who live in wealthier neighborhoods with strong levels of employment are less likely to have or to father a baby than are adolescents in neighborhoods in which income and employment opportunities are more limited.

Footnotes

³ Cook, E. (Unpublished). Percentage of teens who will experience a first birth based on analyses of NCHS Vital Statistics 2013 final birth data. Washington, DC: Child Trends.

⁵ Santelli, J. S., Lindberg, L. D., Finer, L. B., & Singh, S. (2007). Explaining recent declines in adolescent pregnancy in the United States: The contribution of abstinence and improved contraceptive use. American Journal of Public Health, 97(1), 150-156.

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Trends in Teen Pregnancy and Childbearing

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In 2014, there were 24.2 births for every 1,000 adolescent females ages 15-19, or 249,078 babies born to females in this age group. Nearly 89 percent of these births occurred outside of marriage. The 2014 teen birth rate indicates a decline of nine percent from 2013 when the birth rate was 26.5 per 1,000.

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South America has the second highest teen pregnancy rates in the world. Statistics show that about 13% of births are by adolescents. The article also reveals that teens have doubled their fertility rate from 8.5 percent to 14.3 percent between 1955 and 2005. To learn more visit:

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Australia’s teen pregnancy rate has dropped in the last 20 years. This may be due to making protection more available, sexual education classes, and access to abortion. Girls with an unplanned pregnancy are also given support to make a decision about abortion. For more visit:<br>

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Spanish research has concluded that adolescents are becoming sexually active at younger ages, however, the pregnancy rate is not high due to the use of protection. They’ve also noticed that failure or misuse of protection during intercourse is the biggest risk for teen pregnancy.
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