Teenage Pregnancy in Argentina: A Reality

Abstract

In Argentina, 14.6 % of the babies born alive are born to parents that are 19 years of age or younger and most of them are born into impoverished families. This socioeconomic disparity is a major barrier to adolescent girls attempting to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights in Argentina. One of the common characteristics among pregnant and parenting adolescent girls in our country is poverty. The numbers are unprecedented, 17 of every 18 teen moms live in poverty, a differential that reflects serious social inequality. In Argentina, over 67 % of the people under the age of 18 are poor. Poverty makes the process by which adolescents develop responsible sexual behavior and prevent unintended adolescent pregnancies that is far more complicated in a country such as Argentina. A serious problem for Argentine adolescents who become pregnant or give birth is that too often they do not continue their education. In fact, about 20 % of girls who become pregnant in Argentina do not finish their primary level of education; while among girls who do not become pregnant only about 4 % do not finish their primary level of education. It is also noteworthy that related to the social characteristics of these girls up to 49 % of the adolescents that are mothers live in inadequate housing, and only 27 % have health coverage. We also make the point that traditionally adolescent mothers have been thought of as single parents or mothers that do not have a partner. Research, however, shows that more than half of adolescent mothers are married or live together with the father as a couple. Often, these relationships are the result of the adolescent girl becoming pregnant. Including the father (particularly adolescent fathers who are too often ignored and forgotten) can improve the adolescent-mother’s utilization of prenatal and postpartum care.

Appendix 1

Law 26673: Argentina

Within the sphere of the Ministry of Health, the National Programme of Sexual Health and Responsible Procreation is created, sanctioned on October 30, 2002, enacted on November 21, 2002, and gathered in Congress, the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies of the Argentinian Nation sanction the Law 25673. ARTICLE 1—The Programme of Sexual Health and Responsible Procreation is sanctioned within the sphere of the Ministry of Health. ARTICLE 2—The aim of this Programme will be the following:

• (a) To reach the highest level of sexual health and responsible procreation for the population to be able to adopt decisions, free of discrimination, coercion, or violence;

• (b) To reduce morbid maternal-child mortality;

• (c) To prevent unwilling pregnancies;

• (d) To promote sexual health in teenagers;

• (e) To contribute to the prevention and early detection of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/AIDS and genital and mammary pathologies;

• (f) To warranty the access to sexual health and responsible procreation information, orientation, methods, and social benefits for all the population;

• (g) To foster female participation in the act of taking a decision in relation to their sexual health and responsible procreation;

ARTICLE 3—The Program is aimed at the population in general, without discriminating against any sector.

ARTICLE 4—The present law is recorded within the legal framework of the exercise of the parental rights and obligations. In any case, the satisfaction of the child’s higher interests will be considered primary in full possession of the child’s rights and guarantees imprinted within the spirit of the International Convention of the Child’s Rights (Law 23849).

ARTICLE 5—The Ministry of Health, in coordination with the Ministries of Education and Social Development and Environment will be in charge of training educators, social workers, and all community operators to train apt agents:

• (a) To raise the demand satisfaction of the health effectors and agents;

• (b) To contribute to the training, improvement, and updating of basic knowledge related to sexual health and responsible procreation in the educational community;

• (c) To promote spaces for reflection and action for the apprehension of basic knowledge related to this Programme;

• (d) To detect properly risk behaviors and provide lawsuit to the risk groups, seeking to strengthen and improve neighborhood and community resources to educate, advise, and cover all the levels of sexually transmitted diseases prevention, HIV/aids and genital and mammary cancer.

ARTICLE 6—The transformation of the attention model will be implemented re-enforcing the quality and the coverage of the health services to give efficient answers on the grounds of sexual health and responsible procreation. In order to be able to accomplish all the previously mentioned we should

• (a) Establish an adequate health control system to foster the early detection of sexually transmitted diseases, HIV/aids and genital and mammary cancer and to accomplish the performance of diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation;

• (b) On beneficiaries demand, based on previous studies, prescribe, and provide contraceptive methods and elements that should be reversible, non-abortive, and transitory, respecting the criteria and convictions of the receivers, unless specific medical contraindication, having previously being informed about the advantages and disadvantages of natural and National Administration of Drugs and Food (NADF) approved methods;

• (c) To make periodic controls after the selected method has started being used.

ARTICLE 7—The previously mentioned services will be included in the Obligatory Medical Programme (OMP), in the national nomenclature of medical practices, and in the pharmacological nomenclature.

The public system of health services, health social security, and private systems will add them to their coverage, on equal terms as other benefits.

ARTICLE 8—The present Programme must be periodically broadcasted.

ARTICLE 9—Educational institutions, public, private, confessional, or not will observe the present norm with their convictions frame.

ARTICLE 10—The private institutions of confessional character that provide themselves or through tertiary health services, may be excepted form the observance of the provided in ARTICLE 6, subsection b, of the present law.

ARTICLE 11—The application authority will have to:

• (a) Accomplish the implementation, follow-up, and evaluation of the Programme;

• (b) Subscribe agreements with other provinces and with the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, in order to apply this Programme in every and each jurisdiction, for which they will receive consignments from the National treasure provided in the national budget. In case this Programme is not organized, the agreed consignments will be canceled. Within the frame of the Federal Council of Health, aliquots for each province and for the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires will be established.

ARTICLE 12—The expenditure for the public sector demanded by the accomplishment of this Programme will be charged to the 80-jurisdiction of the Ministry of Health, National Programme of Sexual Health, and Responsible Procreation, from the National Budget of the National Administration.

ARTICLE 13—The provinces and the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires are invited to adhere to the present law.

ARTICLE 14—Let it be known to the executive power.

As worded in the sessions hall of the Argentinian congress, in Buenos Aires, this 30th day of October 2002.

—REGISTERED UNDER No. 25.673—

EDUARDO CAMAÑO.—JUAN C. MAQUEDA.—Eduardo Rollano.—Juan C. Oyarzún.