UTS 7.3

• Factors contributing to teenage pregnancies

  • Driven by poverty
  • Lack of employment opportunities
  • Lack of education
  • Knowledge gap
  • Misconceptions about some forms of contraception
  • Lack of agency or control
  • Sexual violence
• Health consequences of early teenage pregnancy

  • Pregnancy and childbirth complications causing maternal mortality, morbidity, and lasting problems
  • Newborn has higher risks of low birth weight, preterm delivery, and severe neonate conditions
  • Further risks for both the mother and the child when the mother is pregnant again
• Sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) are infections that pass from one person to another through sexual contact
• Chlamydia is an STD caused by Chlamydia trachomatis (C. trachomatis), the most common bacterial STD
• Environments ideal for the growth of STDs

  • Genital areas are generally moist and warm
  • Ideal for the growth of yeasts, viruses, and bacteria
• Women with chlamydia do not usually show symptoms. Any symptoms are usually non-specific and may include bladder infection, a change in vaginal discharge, and mild lower abdominal pain
• People between the ages of 15 and 24 years acquire half of all new STDs, and 1 in 4 sexually active adolescent females has an STD
• Characteristics of pubic lice


  • Attach to pubic hair
  • May also be found in armpits, mustache, beard, eyelashes, and eyebrows
  • Feed on human blood
  • Commonly known as "crabs" due to their crab-like appearance
• People pass on STDs more easily when

  They are not using contraceptive devices such as condoms, dams, and sanitizing sex toys
• Social and economic consequences of teenage pregnancy

  • Stigma
  • Rejection or violence by partners, parents, and peers
  • Dropping out of school
  • Limiting education and employment opportunities later on
• According to WHO (2020), teenage pregnancy is a global problem affecting 21 million girls aged 15-19 years in developing regions every year
• Other ways STDs can spread

  • Through unsterilized drug needles
  • From mother to infant during childbirth or breast-feeding
  • Blood transfusions
• Sexual violence


  Widespread with more than a third of girls in some countries reporting that their first sexual encounter was coerced
• Ways STDs can be transmitted

  • Through skin or mucous membranes of the genitals
  • In semen, vaginal secretions, or blood during sexual intercourse
• The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that there are more than 1 million new STDs acquired each day globally
• STD rates among seniors are increasing
• In 2015, nearly 3 percent of girls aged 15 to 19 years had chlamydia according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
• Pubic lice manifestations are primarily spread through sexual contact. Pets do not play any part in the transmission of human lice