Teen Pregnancy in the Dominican Republic
"As teenage pregnancy rates are decreasing in the United States, rates in the Dominican Republic are soaring. In this Caribbean country where abortion is illegal under any circumstance, more than one in 10 teenage girls became pregnant in 2013—double the world average and triple the United States average." (Gonzales,2015). Over 22% of young girls between the ages of 15-19 are pregnant or have experienced motherhood. The Dominican Republic ranks fifth in pregnancies of girls and adolescents among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. The highest rates are observed in the provinces of Azua (36.9%) and Pedernales (35.1%) (EDUCA,2017).
The major causes of Teen Pregnancy in the DR have been found to be:
-Lack of education
-Generational Myths
-Parental influence
-Lack of sex education
Throughout the Batey communities & lower income areas of the Dominican Republic. Teen Pregnancy was a very prevalent Social/Health Concern.
Social Policies and Services:
The Government, through the Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Women, have launched the National Prevention Pregnancy Plan in Adolescents, which seeks to reduce the high rate of young people who are in such situation (EDUCA,2017) In addition to counteract the alarming number of pregnant teenagers, the Dominican Republic launched an initiative in January 2015 to implement sex education in public schools." (Gonzales, 2015).
The impact of history, culture and economy on how teen pregnancy is defined:
>Early start of sexual intercourse
>Missing or distorted information on contraceptive methods
>Misuse of contraceptive methods
>Illegal consumption of alcohol and drugs
>Lack of adolescent activities in impoverished communities
*Above information retrieved from Vocational and technical training program EDUCA*