Parliamentary committee tackles teenage preganancies

32 mothers aged 16 or younger had children in 2011, Mark Brincat, head of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology at the University of Malta, told the parliamentary family affairs committee yesterday.

Brincat told the committee that teenage pregnancies not only create medical problems but also create socio-economic problems for parents and relatives alike.

Brincat was asked by the parliamentary committee to present a report on what is being done to avoid teenagers' increased health risks in pregnancies. "Although teenage pregnancies create more socio-economic problems than physical problems, there are also medical consequences to such pregnancies pose. Pregnancies pose a health hazard to teenage mums, especially to girls of 15 or younger. These problems range from incontinence to other complications which could cause death," Brincat said.

He noted that the majority of teenage mums come from a poorer socio-economic background, and called on the authorities to address poverty seriously.

Brincat explained that contraceptive measures such as the morning-after pill - which he pointed out had been created by a Catholic scientist - "exist to combat maternal mortality". He explained that most teenage mums interrupt their education, and this does not get compensated for.

He emphasised the need for better education, working opportunities and other  social fora to provide the girls with an opportunity to meet other young mothers.

The committee's chairman and Nationalist MP Jean Pierre Farrugia and Labour MPs Justyne Caruana and Marie Louise Coleiro Preca posed a number of questions to Brincat and all committee members agreed that the state should provide better support services to teenage mothers.