Short-, medium- and long-term effects and costs of teen pregnancy

Between 2011 and 2020, an average of 6,239 babies were born daily in Mexico, of which 1,137 come from a mother who is 19 years old or younger; in addition, the National Population Council estimates that 24 births to children under 14 are recorded every day.
According to data from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (INEGI), in that period 22 million 792 thousand 779 babies were registered, of which 18.2%, that is, 4 million 151 thousand 889, were born to a mother under 19 years old.
Read more | Teenage pregnancy causes losses of 63 thousand million pesos and professional stagnation of women
To measure this situation, let’s think of a group of a thousand adolescents between 14 and 19 years old: in 2014, 77 of them had already had a pregnancy; for 2018, the figure was reduced to 70.6, according to the National Institute of Women, but even so they are data that place Mexico in the first place of adolescent pregnancy among the countries that are part of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
According to official figures, 23% of adolescents start their sexual life between the ages of 12 and 19. Of these, 15% of men and 33% of women did not use any contraceptive method in their first sexual intercourse… this is how between 2011 and 2020 the average number of births to 19-year-old women was 415,198.
“Unplanned pregnancy in girls under 14 and adolescents in Mexico is an issue that has gained special relevance due to the increase during the health crisis around COVID-19 that we are experiencing and that should concern us all as a society,” said Fernando Fogarin, general director of Organon Mexico, a medical laboratory specialized in women’s health.
Given this scenario, since 2014 the National Strategy for the Prevention of Teenage Pregnancy (ENPEA) was launched in our country, which aims to reduce the number of teenage pregnancies, with absolute respect for human rights, particularly sexual and reproductive rights, so that by 2030 births to girls aged 10 to 14 are reduced to zero, and reduce the specific fertility rate of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years by 50 per cent.
This strategy recognizes that adolescent pregnancy negatively affects health, school retention, present and future income, access to specialized and quality recreational, social and work opportunities, and human development.
Short,medium and long-term impact
In August 2020, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) published the document Socioeconomic consequences of teenage pregnancy in Mexico (in which the economic impact of this panorama is measured), where the annual figure of 5,885.5 million pesos was reached to attend pregnancies and births in adolescents in terms of public health services.
“In addition to the large-scale economic burden that child and adolescent pregnancy represents for the country, this event also affects the income of families and access to educational, labor, social and recreational opportunities,” Fogarin said.
In labor matters, the UN document establishes that those who were mothers in adolescence participate less in the paid labor market than those who were mothers in adulthood.
“The rate of labor inactivity of the former is 3.64% higher than that of the latter. The unemployment rate is slightly higher when it comes to women who had children between the ages of 10 and 19 compared to those who were mothers in adulthood, that is, unemployment in women who had children as teenagers is 10.18% higher than in women who were mothers at an adult age.” indicates the document.
It also points out that, according to the result of comparing indicators such as having contributed (or contributed) to a social security institution (IMSS, ISSSTE), the quality of employment and opportunities are lower for people who had children between the ages of 10 and 19: 67.4% of adolescent mothers have never contributed to a social security system, while this indicator dropped to 56.8% in adult mothers.
Not only is there less opportunity for employment, women who are mothers in adolescence also generally have lower incomes.
“The annual income of women who have had children as adolescents is 31.6% lower than that of those who were mothers in adulthood. Thus, the average annual labor income of the latter is $68,190, while for those who had children in adolescence it is $46,627,” reads the UNFPA diagnosis.
The annual loss of unemployment income or opportunity cost of employment due to pregnancyThis adolescent or early motherhood is equivalent to more than 3,000 million pesos, so that if it were invested in preventing them, this amount could be used in other projects, such as building and equipping 21 general hospitals, building almost 9,600 schools, paying the annual budget of public institutions of higher education or paying for almost the entirety of an international airport.
The affectations also go through educational opportunities: of the women who have an early motherhood, only 26.6% have primary, 62.5% with secondary and only 6.68% with a professional or postgraduate degree. In contrast, 23.5% of those who have been mothers in adulthood attended primary school, 51.2% secondary school and 22.18% a professional education.
“The panorama of unplanned pregnancies in girls and adolescents is therefore a phenomenon that affects different areas of life, not only of those who procreate, but also of families and society in general, so attention to this situation must be multidimensional. Efforts to prevent pregnancy among girls and adolescents should strengthen collaboration from different spheres of society; government, judiciary, social sector, health sector, education sector, communities and families. The context of pregnancies at an early age represents many challenges for girls, adolescents, their families and, of course, for the Mexican state,” Fogarin said.
One of the main conclusions of the UN study is that the total economic impact of teenage pregnancy and early motherhood in Mexico is quantified at almost 63 billion pesos when considering the aggregate impact due to the loss of income, employment and work activity that represent the economic costs of this situation for the country, which represents 0.27% of GDP.
“That is why at Organon, as a company specialized in women’s health, we are interested in improving not only their needs in medical and health solutions, but also in their social and economic environment. In addition, we permanently promote collaboration schemes with the different instances of health, politics, economy, culture and social, so that, together as a society, we carry out an exercise of reflection and take actions to face the challenge of eradicating child pregnancy and preventing unplanned teenage pregnancy, “concluded its general director.
Organon is a global healthcare company whose mission is to deliver impactful medicines and solutions for a healthier day-to-day. It currently has a base of more than 60 drugs and other products in a variety of areas including reproductive health, heart disease, dermatology, allergies and asthma.
Fernando Fogarin, CEO of Organon Mexico, holds a degree in Business Administration from the University of Buenos Aires and a master’s degree in Business Administration from universidad Austral. He has more than 27 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry.

Original source in Spanish