ICYO- Youth Information

New Delhi: The phenomenon of teenage pregnancy seems to be a worldwide trend with countries like the US and UK reporting high rates along with India and others in South Asia. Latest data suggests that teen pregnancy in India is high with 62 pregnant teens out of every 1,000 women. In comparison, 24 British teens get pregnant before their 19th birthday while the figure is 42 in the US.

 
   Data collected by the UNFPA’s State of the World Population 2008 suggests that the chastity vows taken by teens in the US and UK are obviously not working. Incidentally, the number of pregnant teens in the US is much higher than countries considered less developed like Armenia, Bulgaria and Iraq.

   In comparison, western Europe is better off with merely 7 pregnant teens out of every 1,000 in France and 9 in Germany.

   In India, the problems are very different. Grappling with issues like early marriage, illiteracy and high infant mortality could be possible causes for the high number of young girls getting pregnant between the ages of 15-19. India’s neighbours Afghanistan (113), Bangladesh (125) and Nepal (115) are also plagued by similar problems with younger women getting pregnant. Interestingly, the number of pregnant teens in Pakistan is much lower at 36.

   The report points out that the number of women dying as a consequence of pregnancy and childbirth are unchanged since the 1980s, at about 5,36,000. Many times that number, between 10-15 million, suffer injury or illness. Lower maternal mortality, and avoiding injuries such as obstetric fistula, depends on better care in pregnancy and childbirth, emergency services in cases of complications and access to family planning. It adds that while some poor women do want fewer children, cultural constraints hold them back.

   The report suggests accepting cultural constraints of each country and working in tandem with it. “The key to reproductive health is making motherhood safer through access to family planning to reduce unintended pregnancies and to space intended pregnancies and provide skilled care for all pregnancies and births,” it says. (Himanshi Dhawan/Times of India)

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Youth Information is published by

Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO)

194-A, Arjun Nagar, Safdarjang Enclave

New Delhi 110029, India

Phone: 91 9811729093  / 91 11 26183978 Fax 91 11 26198423

Email: icyoindia@... / icyo@...

Web:  www.icyo.in

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Indian Committee of Youth Organizations (ICYO) is a registered non-profit, non-governmental network organization, committed in developing areas of mutual cooperation and understanding among different youth voluntary agencies, youth groups, clubs and individuals working in the field of youth welfare in India. 

ICYO functions as an umbrella organization of youth NGOs in India. It's family consists of
over 356 organizations spread in 122 districts of 22 states from different corners of India.

Our goal:
To improve and extend the youth work and services through Youth Organizations;
To enhance and demonstrate youth work in the society;
To promote effective youth programmmes;
To organize network of civil society organizations working towards the development of youth work;
To organize seminars, conferences, workshops, trainings;
To maintain international relation with organizations promoting young people in their programmes and activities

Affiliation: 

Consultative (Roster) Status with ECOSOC, United Nations;
Consultative Status with Commission on Sustainable Development;
Full Member of World Assembly of Youth (WAY); Asian Youth Council (AYC);
 CRIN, South Asia Youth Environment Network (SAYEN),

Affiliate group of ECPAT International, Thailand;
ATSECE-DELHI, Indian Partner of AIDS Care Watch Campaign;
Steering Committee member of World Bank's YDP Network;
Working relation with Indian Association of Parliamentarians (IAPPD);
International Medical Parliamentarians Organizations (IMPO);
Asian Forum of Parliamentarians on Population and Development (AFPPD);
World Youth Foundation, Malaysia.