Adolescent Mothers

In Mexico the percentage of females between the ages of 10 and 19 who get pregnant “has increased by 50 percent in the last three decades,” states the magazine Cambio of Mexico City. This increase has occurred despite family planning programs and sex education courses in the public schools. Studies by health authorities reveal that “adolescents who smoke, drink alcoholic beverages, or use some illegal drug are four times more prone to have sexual relations at an earlier age.” Additionally, 30 percent of adolescent mothers have a second unplanned child within a year of giving birth to their first, and 50 percent bear a second child within two years. Adding to the problems associated with teen and preteen pregnancies, 60 percent of these young mothers have to raise their children without the support of the child’s father.