According to the Ministry of Health, there are more than 400,000 early pregnancies a year in Brazil. To reduce this incidence, National Adolescent Prevention Week is held in the first eight days of February to educate young people in the country about preventive and educational measures.

According to the Ministry of Health, more than 400,000 cases of teenage pregnancies between the ages of 10 and 20 are registered annually. – Photo: Pixabay/Reproduction/ND

Misinformation about sexuality and sexual and reproductive rights has been identified as a major cause of early pregnancy. Emotional and psychosocial problems also contribute, including lack of access to social protection, including inappropriate use of contraceptives.

In 2019, National Adolescent Prevention Week legislation was passed and incorporated into the Children and Adolescents Act (ECA) (Children and Adolescents Act). Its main goal is to disseminate information about preventive and educational measures to help reduce the incidence of teenage pregnancy.

According to the non-governmental organization Plan International, 1,150 children are born to teenage mothers in Brazil every day. “Teen motherhood has a number of implications that greatly affect the future of girls. Prevention of early pregnancy is fundamental as two out of three teenage pregnancies are unintended,” the NGO analyzes.

For Dr. Rafaela Traebert of Dona Helena Hospital, this is a global public health issue. Globally, teenage pregnancy affects 16 million girls aged 15 to 19 each year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

In addition, the Brazilian Society of Pediatrics estimates that one in five women in the country will become a mother before reaching adolescence.