“Getting this pregnancy is a very big mistake that I made. When I give birth, I am hoping to go back to school and ask my parents for forgiveness because it’s not easy.”

According to the 2019-2020 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey, 30 per cent of young women in Liberia between the ages of 15 and 19 are already mothers or are pregnant with their first child.

In Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection, along with various organizations and healthcare professionals, are sounding the alarm on the rising tide of teenage pregnancies and its profound impact on girls’ education.

According to the County Gender Supervisor Moses Bedell, partnerships have been forged with some development partners and Civil Society Organizations like SOS, Best Where, Mercy Crops, and Save the Children to raise awareness in communities and schools regarding teenage pregnancy prevention.

He says as part of the collaboration, SOS has provided critical support to pregnant teenagers who face financial challenges, offering school fee sponsorships and educational opportunities to 396 children and teen mothers, with a reported teenage mother rate of 15:25.

Mr. Emmanuel Kpan, Supervisor at the St. Peter Catholic Healthcare Center, sheds light on the root causes of teenage pregnancy, citing factors such as lack of self-control, poverty, and peer pressure. He emphasizes the detrimental effects of early pregnancies on teenagers’ physical and emotional well-being, underscoring the urgency of addressing these challenges.

“Teenage pregnancy limits girls’ self-esteem, delays education and might prevent them from achieving their future goals as a result of early responsibility” Kpan said.

Midwife Klubo Karneh from the Government hospital echoes these concerns, highlighting the physical risks associated with teenage pregnancies and emphasizing the importance of family planning to combat this issue.

According to her, teenage pregnancy is a critical focus area for maternal and child health, citing complications such as anemia, and CPD (Cephalopelvic Disproportion), a condition where the baby has trouble getting through the birth canal because of the size of the baby’s head, the baby’s position or the size or shape of the mother’s pelvis.

Madame Karneh reveals that teenage pregnancies in Grand Bassa County are alarmingly high, with a significant proportion of hospital deliveries involving teenage mothers.

“If 20 women give birth at this hospital, 12 can be teenagers while the others are adults,” She said.

Onesimus Garway, an executive council member of the Bassa Youth Caucus, underlines the importance of engaging adolescents, parents, and communities through awareness campaigns to reduce teenage pregnancies.

“We are fostering collaborations with organizations like Women Care and Girls Education Foundation to provide essential reproductive health education and menstrual hygiene guidance to empower young girls,” He said.

Meima Corneh, the female counselor at the Bassa High School System says for this academic year alone, the school has recorded 40 cases of teenage pregnancy. But there is a program in place to ensure that the girls remain in school.

“The school is doing everything in it’s power to curtail teenage pregnancy by transferring most of them to the night school so that their behavior don’t affect their peers, while at the same time taking steps to eliminate the act,” She said.

Despite this effort, Madame Corneh says 20 per cent of the pregnant girls who were transferred to night schools have dropped out of school.

“They can’t score grades any more because pregnancy by itself comes with stress, the girls become weak, absent minded, and emotional,” she explained.

Research by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) shows that teen age pregnancy contributes significantly to dropout rates amongst school going girls and 67 per cent of adolescent girls with no education are mother, compared to 17 per cent of those with secondary and higher education. The study further reveals that 26 per cent of adolescent pregnancies are unintended and 30 per cent end in unsafe abortion.

The negative impact of early pregnancies on girls’ education, physical health, and overall well-being underscores the need for comprehensive support mechanisms and intervention strategies to safeguard the future of young girls like Sinnah Toe.