Teenage pregnancies soar in Labbongo Sub County
He promised to push for the enactment of an ordinance regulating nightclubs in an effort to fight teenage pregnancies in the area.
Masindi: Authorities in Labbongo Sub County in Masindi district are concerned about the high rate of underage girls becoming pregnant in the area.
Statistics obtained at Kilanyi Health Centre II indicate that 78 girls aged below 18 gave birth between July and December last year, while 85 others have so far given birth at the facility from January to September this year.
Winnie Ataari, a midwife at the Health Center II, reveals that girls as young as 14 years go for antenatal services at the facility while others don’t go for the services due to stigma, which results in giving birth in the hands of traditional birth attendants, risking their lives and that of their unborn babies.
Ataari advises the teenage mothers to always seek antenatal services and delivery at health facilities in the hands of experts. The midwife noted that the high number of teenage pregnancies in the area is exerting more pressure on the already constrained health service, revealing the facility has only one delivery bed, which forces them to also use the examination bed.
James Balikurungi, the LC3 Chairperson for Labbongo Sub County, acknowledges the big burden of teenage pregnancies in the area that he attributes to poor parenting, early school dropouts, and night discos in the subcounty.
The chairperson reveals that the subcounty authorities are planning to conduct an operation to arrest children who are not in schools as part of the efforts to fight school dropouts in the area.
In an effort to enable the teenage mothers to have safe delivery by protecting their lives and that of their babies, Safe Path Mothers Foundation, a community-based organization in Masindi, on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, donated mama kits to 42 mothers in the subcounty.
The handover event was held at Kilanyi Health Centre II.
Sherifah Nabuule, the organization’s Chief Executive Officer, revealed that out of the 42 pregnant mothers, 21 were below the age of 18.
She asserts that though they support and empower teenage mothers, there is a need for the parents to guide, counsel, and keep their children in school.
Wahid Juma Babyesiza, the district councilor representing Labbongo Sub County, promised to push for the enactment of an ordinance regulating nightclubs in an effort to fight teenage pregnancies in the area.
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