CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Baldwin (1950) viewed teenage stage,
as a period where reactivation of the `sexual drives that has been inactive
during the latency period. He said teenagers are on the boundary between childhood
and adulthood and they are faced with the choice of a whole way of life in
terms of their job, their ethics and so forth. He further said that to find
this in the face of many alternative roles, individuals must decide what they
want to do and whether they are able to do it, they must take responsibility
for decisions that may shape the rest of their life or destroy it. And to take
this independent step, persons need a real sense of identity of their own worth
as individuals and their esteem and he said our culture does not make it easy
for our teenagers to take this step in life.
Watson and Lindgren (1979) gave the definition of
a teenager simply as the period or stage of development that separates
childhood from adulthood. They said it is also difficult to indicate the limits
of a teenager; at what point does it begins and what point does it end, they
said the characteristics of a teenager first shows themselves about 10, 11, or
12 years of age with the subtle changes In behaviour and appearance, then it
becomes most obvious at puberty with the start of the menstrual cycle in girls.
Longman dictionary of contemporary English (1995)
gave a definition of pregnancy as the period of time when a woman is pregnant
while pregnant on the other hand having an unborn baby growing inside an
individuals body. So therefore, teenage pregnancy is a period of time by which
a girl is carrying or having an unborn baby growing inside her womb.
World Health Organization (2004) opined that a
teenager is a person between 15-19 years of age, they said it is a period where
an individual is shaped and prepared for adulthood responsibilities they said
also that there are advantages and disadvantages of teenage pregnancy or having
a baby at ones teenage stage, they went ahead to say that when you are younger
the benefits are usually associated with greater fertility a more healthy
pregnancy and a quicker recovery after birth. But the down side is that your
social life, education and training can be severely disrupted just when it
might be taking off into an interesting direction. Moreso, they said some
teenagers are much more capable of looking
after a child than the older women because late motherhood or late
pregnancy has a greater risk of complications in the pregnancy and reduce
fertility. Being older, they said can also be more exhausting looking after
growing children.
1.1 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
This
study was concerned with the advantages and disadvantages of teenage pregnancy
in Kaura Local Government Area of Kaduna State. For clarity of purposes:-
–
Teenage girls
do not have adequate knowledge of protecting themselves from unwanted
pregnancy.
–
Given them out
in marriage early and then using the benefits they get from the girls husband
to train their male children in school.
–
Their male counterparts taken advantage of
them by abusing them sexually.
–
Leaving school
because of unwanted pregnancy.
–
Giving them
out in marriage early to prevent them from prostituting.
–
Getting
pregnant even when their reproductive organs have not fully developed.
1.2 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
Teenage pregnancy has continued to be a major
concern not to Kaduna teenage girls only but also to Nigeria at large. This
study may then serve as a pioneer efforts towards the understanding of teenage pregnancy
to Kaura Local Government Area. The
result of the study may help policy makers particularly, educational planners
in Kaduna State to design more appropriate instructional Programmes on teenage
pregnancy.
The result of the study may also help to highlight
some of the diseases that are associated with teenage pregnancy like Vesico
Virgina Fistular (VVF) and Rector Virgina fistular (RVF). The study may also
provide the basis for further research on teenage pregnancy.
1.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
–
Teenage
pregnancies occur as a result of relationship with older male counterparts.
–
Free assess to
pornographic films without the presence of adult guidance on sex education.
–
Are there
adequate knowledge and proper guidance on teenage pregnancy.
–
Are there any benefits
and dangers of teenage pregnancy to teenage girls and the society at large.
–
Does cultural
upbringing and religious inclination affect teenage pregnancy.
–
Does teenage
pregnancy affect young girls performance in school.
1.4 DELIMITATION
At
the time of the study there were a thousand staff working with Kaura local
government area. These were: four hundred (400) were senior staff, three
hundred(300) were junior staff and the rest were messengers, cleaners and
security men.
However, this study was limited to two(2) areas in
Kaura local government area.
1.5
LIMITATIONS
–
Transportation
to Kaura local government to collect information for the study posed a problem
to the researcher.
–
Lack of fund
posed a major constraint during the conduct of the study.
–
The poor
weather with the slippery condition of the untarred roads made traveling
difficult during the study.
–
Some local
government staff were shy to talk about teenage pregnancy with the researcher.