About 16 million women worldwide aged 15 to 19 give birth each year and Malta has one of the highest percentages of teenage pregnancies in the EU. Stephanie Fsadni discovers that today’s teens are definitely becoming more promiscuous and often have a blasé attitude towards sex, but sex education is not advancing at an equally accelerated pace.
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Maci, Catelynn, Farrah and Amber are four average American girls who became renowned worldwide after they got pregnant in their teens and their stories became the subject of two MTV reality shows, 16 and Pregnant and Teen Mom.
Both series, which highlight the struggles of young mothers to raise their children, have huge followings, and the MTV Teen Mom Facebook page marks a total of 7.7 million ‘likes’.
This popularity may be partly explained by the fact that a number of viewers may relate to the characters and their experiences... or simply because the show reflects a modern reality.
Teen pregnancies have indeed become a worldwide phenomenon, no longer restricted to developing countries.
According to World Health Organisaton figures, about 16 million women aged 15 to 19 give birth each year, that is, about 11 per cent of all births worldwide.
Malta has one of the highest percentages of teenage pregnancies in the EU, delivering 5.8 per cent of all local births in 2004 (European Perinatal Health Report, 2008).
Other local figures show that in 2011, 32 babies were born to mothers aged 16 or under.
“Teenagers are definitely becoming more promiscuous and they have this blasé attitude towards sex,” says Philip Carabot, who runs the Genitourinary (GU) Clinic in Malta. “Despite this, there is poor condom use and, almost invariably, they are ignorant about the facts of life. Young girls are also totally misinformed about the pill.”
Teens, however, should not only be cautious of sexual encounters because of the chances of pregnancy, but especially for health reasons. “They are at a higher risk of suffering from complications of sexually transmitted infections (STIs) than adults because their immune systems are not yet deve-loped,” explains Dr Carabot.
Most infections and diseases can be treated. But Dr Carabot’s concern is that a number of physicians may be reluctant to give sexual health services to minors without their parents’ consent. He insists that such apprehension is unfounded.
“It is very clear in Maltese law that doctors can treat young ones without their parents’ approval,” Dr Carabot says.
In 2000, he asked for advice on the matter from the Medical Council, who confirmed to him that such practice is legal and that it is the duty of the doctor to examine a patient if requested. Malta’s National Sexual Health Policy, finalised in 2011, was to provide doctors with guidelines on this issue.
Another measure outlined by the sexual health strategy and the National Cancer Plan 2011-2015 was the introduction of a national HPV vaccination for adolescent girls. Over the last few weeks, parents received an invitation to have their daughters immunised against the virus that causes cervical cancer.
“It would be a major breakthrough if prescribed properly, that is to girls and, possibly, also boys at the age of 12 to 13, before they start having sex. The longer we wait to give it, the more doubtful the efficacy becomes.”
Many factors may have led to the rise in promiscuity, according to Dr Carabot, including a change in lifestyle, stand-ards or society in general, but unfortunately, this has not led to an equivalent rise in the level of sex education.
On the contrary, sex education at schools is still very poor, if existent. Dr Carabot says that such education should also be the primary responsibility of parents.
He says that the subject may no longer be taboo at home, but his impression is that parents are becoming “indifferent and reluctant to take responsibility to teach their children”. The problem is exacerbated in broken families, where one of the parents is most often missing from a child’s life.
Schools thus have a more important role to play in giving children “a solid background”.
“We must make young ones fully aware of the good and bad things in life, so they are totally prepared for it,” he concludes.