Source: Times of Zambia
Most teenage girls do not plan to get pregnant, but many do find themselves in this situation because of, among other things, peer pressure and influence from foreign cultures.

Teen pregnancies carry extra health risks to both the mother and the baby. Often, teens do not get prenatal care soon enough, which can lead to problems later on.

They have a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby include premature birth and a low birth weight.

Teenage mothers often drop out of school and end up on welfare barely able to support their child, sometimes teenagers who give birth do not live through the ordeal as their bodies are not ready to handle the whole process of childbirth.

Lack of parental guidance has seen a lot of young girls engaging themselves in immoral activities.

Parents nowadays have less time for their children as they are supposed to, instead these children are left in the hands of maids.

These maids have less to teach the children as they themselves have their own issues to deal with.

Parents need to start spending time with their children even on weekends to talk to them and at least find out what is going on in their lives.

Lack of education on dangers, consequences of premarital sex in schools, is also another reason why there are so many teenage pregnancies in the country.

Many teenagers are not taught about these issues and the dangers of premarital sex.

According to an article titled 'Lack of Parental Guidance Contributes to Teenage Pregnancy', parents sometimes knowingly provide false information about sex to discourage their children from participating in it.

According to the article, a girl by the name of Kira became pregnant at 14 because she says her mother did not have "a talk" with her and failed to inform her about birth control.

Another girl only named as Susan became pregnant at sixteen and her parents were shocked. Susan claimed that if her parents had been more open with her about sex, she may not have gotten pregnant at such an early age. Lisa says it could have been avoided if she had more open communication between herself and her parents.
Parental guidance and supervision is an integral part of keeping teenage girls from engaging themselves in premarital sex.

Exploitation by older men who are supposed to be role models to these girls has also become a major cause of teenage pregnancies.

Often girls especially from rural areas have so many demands which cannot be met by their guardians and this leads them to go into relationships with older men who give them money. In return these men also request for sex and in the end they get the girls pregnant.

Basic Education Teachers Union of Zambia (BETUZ) director of public and international relations, Hillary Chipango said the reason behind early pregnancies is because there has not been a lot of sensitisation especially in rural areas to allow the girls to acquire enough knowledge about the dangers or consequences of premarital sex.

"Teenage pregnancies have impacted negatively on girl child education, as most have dropped out of school" he said.

Peer pressure is also a major cause of premarital sex among teenagers as girls in school are being pressurised by friends who are engaging in such acts.

These girls in school talk about their boyfriends, what they are doing with them, how their boyfriends buy them all sorts of things and as a result the other girl who is listening to such talks will be forced to do the same in order to fit in that group.

In Zambia, over 30 per cent of 15-19 year-old girls have already been pregnant or have had a child, which is an alarming rate of pregnancy among adolescents.

About 89 cases of pregnancies were recorded in one year at chipata Day Secondary School in Chipata.

For example, the Hillside Girl's High School recorded 68 cases of pregnancies two years ago and had this year recorded about 30 says provincial AIDS coordination adviser Emmanuel Chama.

These were recorded from June 2012 to June this year.

Mr Chama said the reason behind the rise in the number of pregnancies was due to moral decay in the country.
A teenager who did not want to be named said most of the girls in school are getting pregnant because of ignorance of advice from parents as well as early marriages.

She also said peer pressure is another huge problem which they are facing in schools which is leading to a lot of them to engage in premarital sex. She included poverty as well.

A pupil from Chifubu who also did not want to be named also cited peer pressure, ignorance and lack of parental guidance as some of the causes of the high rate of teenage pregnancies in Zambia.

She added that Media and technology have also added on as both are exposing them to a lot of things they are not supposed to know yet at their age.

It is very saddening to know that girls in our country cannot continue with their education because they have to stay home and look after the baby while the other party who is also a big part of this problems continue to go one to lead their lives normally which is why the education re try policy has to be sensitised more as few know about it

The third teenager interviewed on the same matter said there is lack of sensitisation in school concerning the dangers of peer pressure. She said schools need to come up with programmes or lessons which will educate them on issues of peer pressure and sexuality as it is because schools do not have such programmes as to why there are so many pregnancies in their schools.

Silver Mulenga, 17 says teenage pregnancies are very high in Zambia because teenagers are involving themselves in sexual activities with men to make money.

"Most girls are under pressure to have things they can't afford. Sugar dadies usually take advantage of their vulnerability," she says.

Various stakeholders have expressed their concerns and have since identified economic/financial pressure, peer pressure and parents not spending time with their children as major causes to these early pregnancies among teenagers in the country.

Parents nowadays seem to be so preoccupied with their jobs, and have since neglected their role as mothers. They leave their children with maids the entire day and by the time they are coming back the children are fast asleep.
Parents need to find time for their children especially the girl child and have a good open communication relationship concerning sexuality in order to reduce these pregnancies in the country as they will know everything there is to know about sexuality hence protect themselves.

Community Development Deputy Minister Jean Kapata said the reasons behind the high rate of teenage pregnancies in Zambia is because parents nowadays are not spending enough time with their children and as a result they have no idea about what's going on in the lives of their children.

"They must find time to be with their children and talk to them about issues concerning sexuality and not leaving their children with maids." she said.

Ms Kapata has since urged parents to watch and monitor what their children are watching and doing because by doing this they will be to know what is going on in their child s life.

Non Govermental Organisations Cordinating Committe (NGOCC) vice-chairperson Mary Mulenga said it's worrying to see a lot of young girls dropping out of school because they have fallen pregnant.

Ms Mulenga said some of the reasons as to why there are a lot of pregnancies among teenagers especially in the rural areas is because the children have a number of demands which they want to be met.

Poverty was also one of the reasons she raised, saying because of the high levels of poverty in the country these girls are resorting to sleeping with people who will be able to give them some money to feed themselves.

And Young Women Christian Association (YWCA) Copperbelt coordinator Sharon Chisenga said there is moral decay in our country thus leading to these girls engaging in all sorts of things which lead them to becoming pregnant.

Evangelical Fellowship of Zambia (EFZ) Executive director Pukuta Mwanza said Zambia is experiencing a high rate of teenage pregnancies because there is limited time parents are spending with their children.

Ultimately, it is high time parents and guardians opened up to the reality of teenage experimentation. Lots of children and adolescents know more about sex than previously thought. The question is whether they have the right information or not on sexual matters.

Good channels of communication with teenagers need to be established to deal with the problem.

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