She got married at
15, had her first child at 16, then the other two at 18 and 19years of age
respectively. So is the story of Nankya.
Her marriage was
arranged so that immediately she finished her primary school education she was
married off.
"When I was
about to seat for PLE, a certain man came to my parents home in the village and
I was asked to serve the visitor. Being my mother’s daughter I had been taught
what to do and how to do it and mainly because I was the first girl I used to
do a lot of housework. So, over the years I had perfected various skills. After the meal, my parents left me to talk to the man who then told me that he
was going to marry me and make me his wife and the mother of his children.
I was really
happy because among my peers, I was the first to get married and that brought
pride to my family."
Nankya’s happiness
however was short-lived as she became a slave to this man’s wants and desires
and if she even as much as grumbled about what was required of her, she earned
herself a crippling beating. Her complaints, if any, fell on deaf ears to her
parents who did not seem to have a different definition of what marriage was or
should be.
Within the first
year of her marriage, she was a mother who barely knew the basics of
motherhood. "When I gave birth, my mother stayed with me at my husband’s
home for a week and she took care of both the baby and I upon which she
returned to the village and left me to fend for myself. Motherhood is a very
hard thing I tell you especially when you don’t have support of your husband.
You have to take care of yourself, your child and your husband. On top of that
the housework just keeps increasing."
Before she could
get the hang of parenting, she was pregnant with their second and consequently
third child. At 19, she was a mother of three, two girls and one boy. Her
greatest consolation though was the fact that ten out of her fifteen friends were all young
mothers like her.
Nankya may have
had it rough but things could have been worse. When I asked about the effect of
pregnancy on her, she was quick explain how she had mixed emotions.
"I was very
happy but scared at one point even confused and frustrated because I was not
prepared for it; not emotionally, not even psychologically. I craved things that I could hardly afford and one time my husband
even beat me for asking for chocolate."
"Pregnancy is expensive, I needed maternity clothes and yet I could not afford it. So I stuck to wearing a lesu and only using the dress when I was going away from home."
"Pregnancy is expensive, I needed maternity clothes and yet I could not afford it. So I stuck to wearing a lesu and only using the dress when I was going away from home."
At 15, a young
girls pelvis can hardly hold a pregnancy let alone aid the birthing process and
therefore girls in that age bracket are prone to a number of health
complications. Some of these include obstructed delivery and prolonged labour
which in-turn increases the risk of haemmoraging(excessive bleeding), fistula
and infection.
Pre-eclampsia(hypertension
in pregnancy) is also common in teenage pregnancy. It can progress to extreme
hypertension if left unchecked and could lead to death of either the baby, the
mother, or both of them.
Also premature
birth and still birth are more common in teenage pregnancy than in older women.
Infants born to adolescent mothers are more likely to be premature, of low
birth weight and to even suffer consequences of retarded fetal growth.
This however is
just the tip of the iceberg. Teenage pregnancy needs to be checked. Empower parents, especially those in rural areas, to educate the girl
child. Give her a chance to pursue education because she is capable of so much
more than just marriage. The girl child
also needs a mind-set change and be encouraged to believe in herself and her
capabilities.
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