Latin american teen

The Latin American region has been identified as the second region on the globe, after Sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest amount of teenage pregnancies. There are roughly Of the more than two million annual births to mothers under the age of 15 across the region, countries such as Brazil 26, U15 births , Mexico 10, U15 births , Colombia 6, U15 births and Argentina 2, ranked specifically high in a study. However, the region faces several setbacks due to religious beliefs, poor education methods and the traditional roles of women that mean little progress appears to be being achieved in the bid to reduce teenage pregnancies across the continent.

As she reminisces, a naked two-year-old streaks into her kitchen. His grandmother whisks him away. She hopes to return, but now her body is changing again. Two-fifths of its new mothers are teenagers, the highest share of any municipality in the country, which in turn has the highest rate of teen motherhood outside Africa. Adults and youngsters mingle in boozy gatherings on the streets. Almost a third of Latin American women can expect to have a baby before reaching the age of That is a higher rate of teen motherhood than in any region except sub-Saharan Africa, which is much poorer.

The report highlights recommendations to reduce teen pregnancy, which range from supporting multisectoral prevention programs geared toward those in the most vulnerable situations, to increasing access to contraception and sex education, among others. The global adolescent pregnancy rate is estimated at 46 births per 1, girls, while adolescent pregnancy rates in Latin America and the Caribbean continue to be the second highest in the world, estimated at Although total fertility - the number of children per woman - in Latin America and the Caribbean has declined over the past 30 years, adolescent fertility rates have dropped minimally during that period, according to the report. Additionally, it is the only region where a rising trend has been observed in pregnancies among adolescents younger than 15 years, according to UNFPA. Teen pregnancy can have a profound effect on girls' health over their life course," said Carissa F.

Between and she traveled to Colombia, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Peru to try to highlight the issue in a region where teen pregnancy rates remain stubbornly high. Rates of teen pregnancy in Latin America are about 45 percent higher than the global average, according to a recent U. Below, an edited version of their interview:. So I got to see the scope of work and the different experiences. And even though it was the same region, attached by geography, the experiences were hugely different.