Empowerment of unwed mothers: issues, sexuality and challenges

Teenage pregnancy today is a widely acknowledged common public health problem worldwide, whereas the problems presented by the pregnant unwed teenagers are among the most difficult and perplexing issues faced by those who work in the fields of health, education and social services. Society is immune to teenage pregnancy and it affects every society-developed and developing alike. There is a growing awareness that early child bearing has multiple consequences in terms of maternal health, child health and over all well-being of society. Illegitimate pregnancies may have multiple traumatic impacts on the teenager, her boyfriend, her family, her community and ultimately on her yet to-be-born child. Therefore, pre-marital or teenage pregnancies is a crucial area of scientific exploration and examination in the context when no segment of society is immune to the causes and effects of the out-of-wedlock teenage pregnancy. Each year the extent of this problem grows. The statistics from worldwide indicate a substantial increase of unwed mothers that warrant multi-disciplinary research response. This trends suggest that the proportion of the adolescent population involved in increased sexual activities were so large that sexually active teenagers can no longer be considered socially deviant, a dominant view of Christian west.