Teenage pregnancy in Sri Lanka: Trends and causes

Abstract

The main aim of this paper is to examine the trends and factors affecting teenage pregnancies in Sri Lanka. This paper draws mainly upon secondary data, reviewing the available research findings to describe the patterns, trends and causes for teenage pregnancies in Sri Lanka. When taking into account the trends of teenage pregnancies in Sri Lanka, the percentage of teenage mothers is lower than the other countries in South Asia. However, on the island, the percentage of teenage pregnancy varies from district to district and the prevalence of teenage mothers in certain areas is high. Social factors such as sexual violence, extreme poverty, the impact of war, lack of social opportunities and family conflicts could be identified as the main factors associated with teenage pregnancies. However, patriarchal culture, negative attitudes on poverty, social pressure and misuse of technology or social media as identified in this paper are the root causes for the teenage pregnancies in the country. In order to eliminate the problem of teenage pregnancy, short term and long-term solutions need to be planned. Taking strong actions against gender-based violence, expanding educational opportunities, eradicating poverty and also rehabilitating social systems devastated by the effects of the long-drawn civil war, motivating children and families for engaging with institutions such as schools and religious institutions will be helpful to solve this problem up to some extent. The engagement with the institutions of the health sector should also be implemented in providing sex education, family counselling, and educating parents on alternative income schemes. Awareness programmes in the areas where teenage pregnancies are high also can be implemented and human resources available in the particular area can be utilized for this purpose.