KANCHANPUR, June 27: The rate of teenage pregnancies is increasing in Shuklaphanta Municipality, with health officials raising concerns over the physical and mental well-being of young mothers.
According to the municipality’s health unit, out of 302 deliveries at birth centers in the current fiscal year, 30 were by teens under 20—up from 28 last year. Most of these girls were aged between 16 and 19.
Teenage pregnancy rates high in Shuklaphatna
Health unit chief Paramananda Bhatt said early pregnancies pose high health risks for both mother and child due to the biological immaturity of the mother. Despite legal restrictions on marriage before age 20, early marriages persist, he added.
Bhatt attributed the trend to a lack of education, awareness, and sexual health knowledge among adolescent girls. Complications such as difficult deliveries, low birth weight, infections in mothers, and physical weakness or infections in newborns are common, he noted.
“Strengthening education, awareness, and health services is key to reducing teenage pregnancies,” said Bhatt, “We must enhance access to education for girls, provide sexual education, and raise awareness about legal provisions against child marriage.”
Most of the pregnant teens had eloped and dropped out of school, while cases of marriages under parental pressure were not reported.
