Girls should start families after 20, say experts

Doctors say adult mothers are better equipped to raise children.

LAHORE:

Let’s crack this myth of teen marriages and subsequent pregnancies being beneficial to anyone. In a conservative country like Pakistan, where contraception is frowned upon and early marriages are the norm, teen pregnancies are fairly common.

But what a lot of teen mothers don’t realise, is that while the female body becomes fertile after the age of roughly 12 years, there are some safe zones doctors recommend for conception. If the mother is too young, she is mentally, emotionally and sometimes physically underdeveloped. If she’s too old, the chances of unstable pregnancies and abnormalities are high.

Some elders advise their daughters and daughters-in-law to have children early on, either in the hope of having multiple grandchildren or to tie them down in their marriage. In rural areas, there is hardly any concept of family planning, and teen pregnancies are very common. While society is moving away from the trend of getting girls married at the ages of 15 and 16, there is still a segment of society where girls marry at young ages and become mothers before 20.

“What people don’t realise is that a woman is ideally ready to bear a child after the age of 21,” says renowned gynecologist Farrukh Zaman. “Teen pregnancies are harmful for girls because their body tissues are underdeveloped. Even emotionally, they are not ready to become mothers.”

“There are no positives of teen pregnancies,” continues Dr Zaman. “C-sections are higher at an early age with a greater chance of a rocky pregnancy resulting in high blood pressure.”

Dr Zaman also highlights that women who start their families after 25 or closer to 30 are able to provide a more secure environment for their family. “They have completed their education by the age of 30, and have a secure standing in society,” urges Dr Zaman. “And since the woman is mature enough to understand herself, she is able to provide for the child in a much better way.”

Psychologist Dr Muhammad Mujtaba sheds light on the effects young pregnancies can have on the mental health of teen mothers.

“Firstly, social stigma is an issue not only with teenage mothers but also with their children. They suffer abuse, mostly as a result of their impulsive acts like aggression etc,” says Dr Mujtaba. “Because their mothers are not able to bond with them properly or give emotional support, the children are also more prone to give physical and emotional abuse to them,” he continues. “As a result, they become more delinquent, more involved in drugs and sexual activity and more likely to leave education earlier than the average child of the same social strata [born to an adult female].”

Teen mothers are more vulnerable than adult mothers to psychological issues. According to experts, teen mothers: 

1.   Are more prone to act aggressively.

2.   Are less tolerant to the child’s demands.

3.   Are less able to relate to their children.

4.   More prone to do deliberate self harm.

5.   Are likely to either physically or emotionally abuse their children.

6.   Are more likely to have separations or divorces and become single parents.

7.   Are more likely to suffer from depression and become dependent on drugs, especially sleeping aids.

9.   Are likely to be physically abused themselves by their spouse or people around them.

10. Less likely to continue education after having children.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 23^rd, 2013.

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