In the year 2000, each day 21 babies were born from moms that were between 10 and 17 years old. 2 out of every 1000 girls in this age group became mothers that year.[1] In the year 2019, there were ‘only’ 11 per day, for a total of still 4019 babies. Most of the teenage moms stop going to classes to take care of their babies.

[1] Source: Natasha Cambronero, “Embarazo Adolescente se redujo a la mitad en 19 años”, La Nación, November 9, 2019 (https://www.nacion.com/data/embarazo-adolescente-se-desploma-se-redujo-a-la/QTBDECLSR5AWHFKCWIQIU42VBE/story/)

Sadly, teenage pregnancy is often the result of an improper relationship (the relationship of a minor with a person at least 5 years older – in the case of youngsters up to 15 years – or 7 years older – in the case of young people of 15-17 years).

In those relationships, the girls generally don’t choose to be with the adult person. They do so because the family wants it, because the adult has power over them or because of the material benefits the family hopes to obtain in return.

As improper relationships are illegal in Costa Rica, in many cases the young girl is no longer allowed to see her friends from before, even family, and is not allowed to go to school where classmates or teachers may denounce the situation. Little by little, her world is reduced to her home. Early pregnancy is often the end of hope for a better future. For both the young girl and her baby.

And it’s not just a matter of the opportunity to study. “Complications of pregnancy and birth-giving are the main cause of death in teenage girls”, states the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) on its website. [1]

[1] www.unfpa.org/es/embarazo-adolescente

What do we do?

We articulate efforts to reduce pregnancy in the under-age teenage population, in order to break the cycles of poverty, enhance the development and growth of teenagers and reduce limitations and situations of inequity suffered by the teenage mothers.

Campaigns:

  • Poster campaign in social networks, to pierce sexual myths.
  • Together with local influencers, we developed a campaign in which the young influencers ‘took care of a baby’ for one week and afterwards shared their experiences on Youtube and urged young people to wait with becoming parents until being of legal age and having finished their studies.

Incidence:

  • Where and when we can, we insist on the risk of teenage pregnancies as a factor of educational exclusion and a limiting factor for breaking out of the circle of poverty.
  • Article “Las niñas invisibles” on the occasion of Girl Day 2019, in the national newspaper “La Nación” – on the issue of improper relationships.

Specific help:

  • We motivate pregnant girls to continue their studies and explain them the different kinds of help they are entitled to.