More than eight out of ten mothers and pregnant women under the age of 18 no longer go to school, and four out of ten only access family medicine during pregnancy, reveals a study by the Salvati Copiii organization regarding the situation of mothers/pregnant teenagers in Romania, as presented, on Monday, at the Senate, during a debate on this topic, according to Agerpres.

The analysis also highlights that two out of ten minor mothers have more than one child, and 32pct of them state that their mother also was a minor when she gave birth to them.

Salvati Copiii mentions that, in 2021, according to the semi-definitive INS data, 687 births came from mothers under the age of 15 and 45pct of the births registered among girls under the age of 15 in the European Union come from Romania, the country ranking 1st at this chapter.

The analysis of the situation of mothers and pregnant women under the age of 18 in Romania also reveals that: the majority of underage mothers dropped out of school before pregnancy, one in ten never went to school, 75pct dropped out of school in gymnasium, 80pct did not use any contraceptive method, 75pct have relatives or acquaintances who gave birth under the age of 18, two out of ten have more than one child, the average age of the father of children of underage mothers is 21, 25pct of vulnerable pregnant women do not have medical insurance and 33pct of them did not do the recommended analyzes due to lack of money.

„Access to medical services is imperative, both for the health of the mother and the child. Medical control during pregnancy can prevent serious health problems, and access to education, counseling and support throughout pregnancy and after birth should represent a priority,” said George Roman, head of the Salvati Copii Romania organization.

The study was carried out on a sample of 260 young women from 46 disadvantaged rural communities where the „Salvati Copiii” Organization implements the project „An integrated model for ensuring access to medical and social services for pregnant teenage girls and teenage mothers from disadvantaged rural areas from Romania and the Republic of Moldova.” The project is carried out in partnership with the Centre for Information and Documentation on Child Rights and the Youth Health Association from Chisinau, with the support of MSD for Mothers and MSD Romania.

Until now, Save the Children Romania has worked in 64 disadvantaged rural communities with 80,000 mothers, pregnant women and children up to 5 years old.

Agerpres