Family Practice Vol. 19, No. 2, 211
© Oxford University Press 2002
Teenage pregnancy: whose problem is it?
Public Health and Social Medicine Department, Medical University of Gda
sk, Al. Zwyciestwa 42A, 80-210 Gdask, Poland.
In Family Practice Volume 17 (December 2000), Jewell et al.1 presented the problem of British teenage women's needs for contraceptive and sex education in schools. The problem of teenage mothers is very widespread, but it is connected with the economic and cultural background of societies.2–4
At our department (Public Health and Social Medicine Department of Medical University of Gdask, Poland), we have conducted a similar study of teenage mothers. All teenage mothers who gave birth during the period from 1 July 1995 to 30 June 1996 at the Obstetrics Departments of Gdask (Poland) hospitals took part in our study. The information was gathered by personal interviews and a special questionnaire concerned with the family situation of teenage mothers, their social and economic status and that of their partners, and their knowledge of their ovular period and contraceptive methods.
The results of our study proved that >40% teenagers did not know their ovular period and ~75% couples did not use any contraceptive methods.
For the teenagers who know about their ovular period, the most common source of information was popular scientific books, less commonly the family home and only 11% of surveyed people indicated school as the place where they obtained their information (Fig. 1
).
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Our results parallel those found in the UK study and emphasized the importance of including information about the ovular period and contraception in school programmes. In Poland, this kind of information is blocked by the catholic attitude of authorities. The natural method of birth regulation is promoted.
On the other hand, we obtained different results, as far as the use of contraceptive methods was concerned, according to social and economic background. Young women from more socio-economically advantaged backgrounds used contraception twice as frequently as those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Poland, contraception has to be paid for without any supplies by health funds. We also observed a difference in the use of contraception according to the education level of teenagers and their parents.
Contraceptive methods were used more frequently by more educated teenagers (college education, 40.9%; technical college education, 36.84%). The less educated teenagers used contraception less frequently (21.47%). The lowest frequency of using contraception was observed in the group with only a primary level of education (5.88%). Furthermore, teenagers whose parents were well educated used contraceptive methods more often. From the gathered material, we also found that the groups of teenagers who described their economic status as medium or good used contraception more often, 7.84 and 10.03%, respectively. In the group of teenagers describing their economic status as very good or poor, the percentage using contraception was nearly half the above, from 4.39 to 2.19%.
References
1
Jewell D, Tacchi J, Donovan J. Teenage pregnancy: whose problem is it? Fam Pract 2000; 17: 522–528.
2 Adolph C, Ramos DE, Linton KL, Grimes DA. Pregnancy among Hispanic teenagers: is good parental communication a deterrent? Contraception 1995; 51: 5–11.
3 Buitendijk SE, van Enk A, Oosterhout R, Ris M. Obstetrical outcome in teenage pregnancies in The Netherlands. Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd 1993; 137: 2536–2541.[Medline]
4 Rosenberg K, McEwan HP. Teenage pregnancy in Scotland: trends and risks. Scott Med J 1991; 36: 6–12.[Medline]
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