Teenage Pregnancy in the Bahamas

All pregnancies in the Bahamas are affected by teenage pregnancies This is a multifaceted problem that can cause social, economic and health problems. Teenage pregnancies inadvertently increased the number of single parent families in the Bahamas. According to statistics of the Bureau of Statistics, a single parent family is considered a unmarried parent. Despite fluctuations in the birthrate, the birthrate of the single mother of the Bahamas rose from 29% (1970) to 62% (2009) over the past 40 years.

In developed countries, teenage pregnancies are associated with social problems, including a decline in educational standards, poverty, and other bad living outcomes of teenage mothers. Teenage pregnancies in developed countries are not usually married and have social stigma in many communities and cultures. In contrast, young parents in developing countries are often married, pregnancy is welcomed by families and society. However, in these societies, early pregnancies can lead to medical problems associated with malnutrition and poor health care.

After the Social Exclusion Department investigated the main factors related to teen pregnancy in 1999, a young pregnancy strategy, a major initiative in the UK, was established to address this problem. The juvenile pregnancy department was founded to implement strategies of all government departments and to cooperate with various departments. This strategy takes an approach that consists of two approaches, including a dual goal of preventing teen early pregnancies and supporting young parents. Media activities are the main building blocks of the strategy, educational initiatives, and the provision of health and society. In 1998, there were about 90,000 young people in the UK, but nearly 8,000 of them were under 16 years old. Teenage pregnancy has broad social meaning.

In 2010, "Star" released statistics on teen pregnancy. Between January and April, the Welfare Department reported 111 pregnancies in teenagers in Malaysia ("Youth Pregnancy", 2010). In newspaper coverage, according to statistics, the incidence of teenage pregnancies in Malaysia has increased over the years. There were 107 reports in 2008, 131 in 2009. One thing to consider is that the number of unprecedented cases is unknown. Not only in Malaysia this immoral phenomenon is increasing in many countries. A teenage pregnancy can be defined as a pregnancy of a young woman's infant of age less than legal age (depending on the country) (Kaplowitz, 2006). Teenage pregnancy is just the beginning of major complications. A teenage pregnancy eventually drives a teenager who is pregnant to a teenage parent-child relationship. Custody is not only based on biological relationships