| Nuri Sufri |
FOUR per cent out of 7,000 annual births in Brunei Darussalam is attributed to teenage pregnancies and has remained stagnant for the past five years.
This was revealed by Prapaporn Langputen (Sofia Abdullah), a PhD Candidate in Midwifery from the Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences (PAPRSB IHS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (UBD) during a presentation and a dialogue session with nurses and midwives at the Women and Children’s Centre in Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha (RIPAS) Hospital yesterday.
According to statistics, 280 Muslim teenagers under the age of 20 years old and the youngest being 16 in the country, fall pregnant per annum which amounts to a total of 1,400 teenage pregnancies in the past five years. Speaking to the Bulletin, Dr Khadizah binti Haji Abdul Mumin, the Supervisor of Sofia Abdullah at UBD, said, “Brunei is number 11 in teenage pregnancies globally.”
Prapaporn Langputen (Sofia Abdullah), a PhD Candidate in Midwifery from the Pengiran Anak Puteri Rashidah Sa’adatul Bolkiah Institute of Health Sciences (PAPRSB IHS), Universiti Brunei Darussalam (5th from Right) in a group photo – NURI SUFRI
In hopes to address such social ills within the country, a dialogue session amongst midwives, nurses and the researchers was organised, titled ‘Pathology of Teenage Pregnancy: Implications to Midwifery Practice’, to serve as a basis for an exchange of support, understanding and raise awareness surrounding the health and care of pregnant teenagers.
During the presentation, research suggests four keys areas in the Brunei context; Malay Islamic Monarchy (MIB), extended family structure, percentage of teenage pregnancies and the few studies that have been conducted pertaining the matter. The Ministry of Religious Affairs (MoRA) offers classes as a deterrent in the Family Counselling Service Section.
According to Dr Khadizah, it is imperative to raise awareness on teenage pregnancy prevention and improve the health and well-being of the child, as well as his or her mother.
Plans are in the pipeline for Sofia Abdullah to conduct further research and develop a model of prevention with multi-disciplinary specialists, and build a database between Brunei and Thailand, as well as to improve coordination among the Ministry of Health (MoH), MoRA, Ministry of Education (MoE) and the Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (MCYS). The researchers plan to utilise social media to promote and raise awareness on teenage pregnancies in terms of prevention and care.
During the presentation, a midwife shared that pregnant teenagers are ashamed and scared to seek medical assistance and advice from them, which can be detrimental to their health and their baby.
The post Dialogue held to tackle teen pregnancies appeared first on Borneo Bulletin Online.