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Getting pregnant out of wedlock while still being in school is a real burden and in some cultures, communities and societies, a shame.
That is why many pregnant teenagers choose not to tell anyone that they are pregnant, taking the matter into their own hands, which of course, in most cases impact both the teen mother and her baby adversely.
One teen, who lives with her parents somehow managed to conceal her pregnancy from them and gave birth alone at home, when her parents were not at home. After the ordeal, she left her baby at a baby hatch nearby and only returned two weeks later for the baby.
Wiping tears from her cheeks, the 16 year old sobbed that her boyfriend convinced her to have sex and later, after she told him that she was pregnant, he left her.
“I love my baby and I want the best for her. That’s why I didn't dump her and left her in the baby hatch so that at least she will have a promising future. And, since my baby is a girl, I want her not to be as naive as I was,” she said pointedly.
A seventeen year old, who found herself pregnant, was terrified that her parents would find out about her pregnancy. Having managed to hide her growing tummy, she too, gave birth home alone.
After delivery, she managed to drive herself to the foundation and hand over her baby to the staff there.
The Orphan Care Foundation trustee said that it is strange that her parents did not notice their daughter’s pregnancy despite living in the same house.
“This shows how unattached some parents are with their children and how unaware parents are about their children’s activities and whereabouts,” the trustee added.
At least the helpless and hapless young mothers mentioned above didn't abandon their babies at inhospitable environments which almost always leads to agonizing and slow death for the infants.
Women’s Aid Organization executive director said that baby hatches are proving to be an important way to tackle issues of baby dumping due to unwanted pregnancies.
The setting up of more baby hatches would be good because it gives these women to give up their babies for adoption anonymously, saving them from scrutiny and condemnation from the society.
Nonetheless, this is only a short term solution. The long term solution is to tackle the root cause of the problem and this only can be done through sex education in schools.
Baby dumping is skyrocketing and in Islamic countries like Malaysia, an average of seven babies are dumped each month and half of the abandoned babies die by the time they are found, some, so decomposed, their gender could not be determined.
Teen pregnancy is also rampant in African nations and other, poor underdeveloped countries, out of wedlock or otherwise.
When there is a rise in the number of teenage mothers, you know your country is going through a crisis because this is the earliest sign to show that the citizens of a nation are approaching a downfall.
Teenage mothers have a lot of barriers in raising a child. Eventually, the poorly raised child would become the youth of the nation, hailing from a education deprived, broken family, and an abysmal social background and these youngsters are supposedly the future leaders of the nation. So, it’s a vicious cycle.
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