Adolescent girls are more at risk during childbirth. Stigma and abuse by healthcare workers makes them less likely to seek medical care, putting their lives further in danger.
Dr Kim Jonas, South African Medical Research Council
An increase in the adolescent pregnancy rate strongly suggests challenges with accessing sexual and reproductive healthcare services for this vulnerable age group.
It seems counterintuitive that cuts to teen-pregnancy prevention programmes should lead to fewer pregnancies, but that’s what the latest research finds.