Dear Teens,

 

Months ago, I went through our files in the office looking at our statistics of pregnancies in the town I’m currently working in. I was hoping it would give me data as to what causes maternal mortality (death) and morbidity (illness) in the community.  To my surprise, an alarming number of teenage pregnancies were recorded a few years back until today!  I was so alarmed that I left what my primary purpose was, and instead, went on to researching about teenage pregnancies in the internet.

Here’s the catch! Worldwide, 1 out of 4 girls aged below 20years old gets pregnant without planning to! What more, in 2011, the Philippines had the most number of teenage pregnancies in all of Southeast Asia! I was deeply saddened by the statistics. How on earth did this happen to you guys?! You are our youth whom i still associate with the success of this country.haha!

And so, i researched, made my powerpoint materials, searched youtube for teenage preg videos, and made leaflets/pamphletes about teenage pregnancy.  Afterwhich, I wrote letters to all the high schools in town asking them if I could have a symposium about Teenage Pregnancy Awareness with their students. 4 out of 7 schools replied positively, well…that’s already a yehei!

Fast forward to my info drive… I started my lecture about the changes your bodies undergo during adolescents, which are called Secondary Sexual Characteristics such as, for the boys–enlargement of the testicles and penis (now don’t smirk, we are grown-ups here), rapid growth spurt, deepening of your voice, growth of pubic hair, facial hair and hairs everywhere; for the girls–there is what we call thelarche or breastbudding, pubarche or the growth of pubic hair and hair in the armpits, and lastly, menarche or our first menstruation. These are lectures in your Health subject so I’m pretty sure you know about this already.

I’ve mentioned in my lectures how you guys are still fully dependent on your parents. You always think about being independent.  Who can blame you anyway?  Probably, this time you’re already drinking coffees instead of milk, riding a motorbike or driving a car (do you have a license?), cook your own food (yeah, but mostly canned foods and pancit canton) and you have a little freedom on deciding for yourselves.  Well, that’s only a bit of independence.  Independence is the time when you no longer totally “depend” on your parents’ financial and psychosocial support.  It’s somewhat the time when you now earn to pay your own bills and buy your own food (uhhm, well, i’m doing it now and i think i’m independent.haha). At your stage, no matter how much you love playing move-out-of-the-house, at the end of the day, there is no place like being at home where there are people who decide for your sake about what to eat for dinner. True?!

Another thing, you guys are curious about so many things that even if it’s hot, you still want to swallow it! You feel so much pressure about trying out things like drugs, smoking and sex!  You know it’s bad for you, but you just tell yourselves that hey, my friends are doing it, they say there’s nothing wrong with it, so i tried it.  And oftentimes, what is just a “try” in the beginning leads to addiction.  Studies show that adolescents, like you, are not yet mature enough to differentiate what’s wrong from right, and to think ahead of the consequences of your actions today! It doesn’t need an algebraic equation to solve the problems troubling you right now, you just need your family to guide and inspire you, a few true and good friends to share with, and other people’s experiences to learn from. 

Now, my main topic: TEENAGE PREGNANCY.  I am not concerned with the stigma you will be facing, nor the family conflicts you will experience, nor the depression you will probably feel, nor the delay of schooling which will surely happen to you if you get pregnant at that age! I am more concerned with the health risks you will be facing during the 9-month course.  For first time mothers, your body perceives the baby as something of foreign origin (not a foreigner, i mean something which is not inherent in the body), this causes your blood vessels to have spasms and some things we call.endothelial dysfunctions which leads to an increase in blood pressure to more than 140/90mmHg, to proteins seen in the urine, to edema, to headaches and blurring of vision.  This disease is what we call Preeclampsia  and this can cause death, if not managed, due to liver and kidney failure, malfunctions in the brain, and to disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC-such another topic, just research for it.haha)! Preeclampsia, also results in preterm babies coz there’s no better cure for it than delivery.  The babies have a higher risk of being delivered preterm, when the heart and lungs and not yet fully developed.  On the other hand, you guys are prone to experiencing cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD) meaning, the head of your baby cannot pass through your pelvis so there is a high chance that you will undergo cesarean section. Of course, how can it pass through a small hips which is still developing! Nutritional deficiency is also a problem in your age group because most of you are picky eaters.  And you have to take iron, folic acid and calcium supplements during pregnancy. Imagine taking big capsules (you cannot even swallow a small tablet of paracetamol for your fever, what more capsules?). These and lot more risksssss. So please think twice before you leap.

I just want you to be responsible guys. Say NO if you still can.  Sex is something Serious and not a pastime.  For me it is even something Sacred, which you should only share after you are married. You should love your body and respect yourself. Nobody can force you to have sex when you don’t want to. Anyway, if you are forced to do it then, that’s not True Love but True Lust. Being in a relationship now at 12-18 years old doesn’t guarantee you of a future with him. A baby can’t make him stay! True love awaits you in the future.  Always make a plan and prioritize things.  What is more important to you now? Is it studies? Is it honoring God and making your parents proud of you? Then, Do it! Avoid being in an intimate relationship at a young age, it leads you to things you might probably regret in the future. Do the right thing, even if it hurts your feelings, at least it will give you peace of mind.  Older people always pray for themselves to have inner peace, you will have peace of mind when you know in your heart you’ve made the right decision.

Love,

DocNM