ON AIR
The issue of child pregnancy is growing every day. In our country, the state with the highest rate of very young mothers is Guanajuato, did you know that?
In Guanajuato, every 24 hours a girl becomes a mother. By the end of 2024, a total of 385 minors between the ages of 10 and 14 had given birth, according to the Secretary for Women, Itzel Balderas Hernández.
The situation is even more alarming because in several documented cases, the fathers were men as old as 62.
Governor Libia Dennise García Muñoz Ledo made it clear that the goal in Guanajuato is to reduce teenage pregnancies and eliminate child pregnancy entirely.
Why does early pregnancy happen?
Decisions about the sexual life of each adolescent are not strictly determined by individual choice. Decision-making depends on various factors, many of them social, which can later result in either a positive or negative outcome: level of education, employment or occupation, area of residence, gender, closeness to family members, timely access to healthcare, and the economic status of the parents, among others.
All of the above influence living conditions that directly impact a person’s health.
Teen pregnancy has a significant impact on the country’s development, especially due to its link to school dropout rates. Between 20% and 45% of teenagers who stop attending school do so because of parenthood (according to the National School Dropout Survey by the Ministry of National Education, 2011).
Teen pregnancy can occur for various reasons, including:
- Abuse, rape, or sexual exploitation.
- Educational inequalities and higher levels of school dropout (ENDS, 2010).
- Higher poverty levels, displacement, or situations of conflict.
- Early initiation of sexual activity.
- Influence of the media.
- A voluntary and conscious decision to become pregnant, or unprotected sex.
What is being done to address this situation?
Governor Libia Dennise García, together with experts such as Ninfa Bribiesca from the State Department of Education and Gaudencio Rodríguez, an adolescent development specialist and former UNICEF consultant, explained that the program “En Buen Plan” is an educational model focused on decision-making and life perspective for teenagers.
The project will be implemented first in educational institutions and will include specialists who will work directly with young people. García Muñoz Ledo emphasized that the model aims to prevent pregnancies and violence, without including content related to abortion.
On the weekly program “Conectando con la Gente”, Muñoz Ledo mentioned that some parents believe that talking about sexuality with adolescents might encourage them to start sexual activity earlier; however, she stated that it has been proven that the more professional information minors receive, the more likely it is that their entry into active sexual life is delayed.
She also acknowledged that not all teachers are currently trained to address this topic, especially considering that many young people today have more information or misinformation and often lack a trusting environment at home to talk about sexuality.
