Adolescence is a period of transition from childhood to adulthood. The period of adolescence extends from 10 to 19 years. Almost one fourth of India's population comprises of girls below 20 years of age and adolescent pregnancies constitute 10-15 percent of total pregnancies. This figure may be still higher in some States of our country. This is largely attributed to early marriages, a cultural widely prevalent in the whole of the Indian subcontinent. In India and other developing countries, early marriages and early pregnancies are socially acceptable.
The current study was carried out to determine the socio-medical problems of teenage mothers. It has been widely reported that there is an increased rate of complications seen during pregnancy and delivery particularly in unregistered teenage mothers; henceforth purview of ‘High Risk’ pregnancy requiring constant and regular supervision. There is need to discourage teenage pregnancies by imparting sex education and knowledge about contraception to teenagers as an integral part of health education.
Introduction
The term "adolescence" has been defined as including those aged between 10 and 19 years. Adolescence has multifaceted dimensions. Adolescents account for one fifth of the world’s population and have been on an increasing trend. In India they account for 23 percent of the population. This implies that about 230 million Indians are adolescents in the age group of 10 to 19 years. The term adolescent means ‘to emerge’ or ‘achieve identity.’ Adolescence is defined as a phase of life characterized by rapid physical growth
and development, physical, social and psychological changes and maturity, sexual maturity, experimentation, development of adult mental processes and a move from the