Teenage Pregnancy

The news headline to lower the age of consent for sex to 16 is what kept me wondering all day… WHY??
You have to be 17 to apply in a medical school, 18 to vote or marry (as a girl), 21 to booze. Why then the age of consent for sex be 16?
is this the need of the hour or is this a solution to the problems like stalking and voyeurism to “reduce the gross abuse” ( read it- to reduce the work load on Indian judiciary and run away from the problems), frankly I don’t know. If the legal age for the consent for marriage is 18 for girls, and since time immemorial leaders and thinkers have fought against the concept of child marriage, is this age lowering really necessary? It is in some way promoting the pre-marital sex. And with it, clearly indicates that the society is legalizing issues which literally don’t fit into our culture. Sexual pleasures at an age when you just hardly finish your high school education. Does the government even has an efficient program for sexual education to these school going lads?
With great powers, comes the great responsibility- our favorite spiderman said. Of course, the teenagers must be able to handle them if they take such a step. While talking to a friend’s mom, who happens to be a gynaecologist, it came to me a surprise that the number of MTP cases increased alarmingly in a last few years. More to my amazement was the average decrease in the age of patients consulting for it. People belonging to lower and the higher socio-economic status equally. The teenagers should be educated about the consequences of these acts and the way health may be affected, their lives would be affected. The formative years of their lives, the time to choose and make careers, become financially independent is what is important. These things follow. And if you think our personal lives have nothing to do with our professional lives, let me make you aware of the medical facts that we have only one brain. It handles all of it. There is practically no line of demarcation, and the limbic system is responsible for our emotions and memory equally. So our personal lives somehow do affect our profession. The question of teenage pregnancies- you are allowed to have a sexual intercourse at 16, you are not married, you get pregnant. What next? Logically, only two options- keep the baby or abort it. If u decide to keep the baby, is the mother ready physically and mentally to handle it all on her own? Are all the other issues settled and baby would be welcomed in this world and would be taken proper care of? The second option- abortion. Medically or illegally? Safe or unsafe? Why did you let it happen at the first place?
The teenage pregnancies are associated with many social issues, including lower educational levels, higher rates of poverty, and other poorer life outcomes in children of teenage mothers. Teenage pregnancy is usually out of marriage, and carries a social stigma in many communities and cultures. In the Indian subcontinent, early marriage sometimes results in adolescent pregnancy, particularly in rural regions where the rate is much higher than it is in urbanized areas. Maternal and prenatal health is of particular concern among teens who are pregnant or parenting. The worldwide incidence of premature birth and low birth weight is higher among adolescent mothers. Teenage mothers are more likely to have anemia, preterm delivery and seek less prenatal care in third trimester. Inadequate nutrition during pregnancy is even more marked problem among teenagers in developing countries like India. Young mothers and their babies are at greater risk of contracting HIV infection. An underdeveloped pelvis in lower age can lead to difficulties in childbirth. Obstructed labour is normally dealt with Caesarean section, but inadequacy of medical facilities can lead to eclampsia, obstetric fistula, infant mortality or maternal death.
Young motherhood affects employment and social class. It affects education and has psychological impact. Suicidal tendencies increase. The lack of education on safe sex, whether it is from parents, schools or otherwise, is a cause of teenage pregnancy. Many teenagers are not taught about methods of birth control and how to deal with peers who pressure them into having sex before they are ready. Many pregnant teenagers do not have any cognition of the central facts of sexuality. Some teenage girls have said to be pressured into having sex with their boyfriends at a young age, and yet no one taught teens how to deal with this pressure or to say “no”. The sexuality, drug and alcohol use, lack of contraception, age discrepancy in relationships, sexual abuse, dating violence, socio economic factors, childhood environment, media influence- all affect it directly or indirectly.
It is our moral responsibility to bring such issues to light and support and educate the victims- the future citizens of country. Prevention is better than cure, they say. Such a disgrace- the news headlines.

Solitude vs. Loneliness

The words to describe the feeling or state of being on our own may have a multiple dictionary synonyms. But these synonyms when encountered in flesh and blood can have entirely different psychosomatic state of minds. Here we go: solitude vs. loneliness.
Yes, a dictionary referral may tell us they are all the same, but the unfortunate reality says they are not. Loneliness is lacking companionship but solitude is being detached from the social interaction ‘by own wish’. Solitude is chosen, loneliness is inflicted upon us, either by others or by our own selves.
Loneliness is a complex and usually unpleasant emotional response to isolation. Loneliness typically includes anxious feelings about a lack of connectedness or communality with other beings, both in the present and extending into the future. As such, loneliness can be felt even when surrounded by other people. One way of thinking about loneliness is as a discrepancy between one's desired and achieved levels of social interaction,[1] while solitude is simply the lack of contact with people. Loneliness is therefore a subjective experience; if a person thinks they are lonely, then they are lonely as it is a self created enigma. Solitude can have positive effects on individuals. Solitude is also associated with other positive growth experiences, religious experiences, and identity building such as solitary quests used in rites of passages for adolescents.[12]
Chronic loneliness is a serious, life-threatening condition. Loneliness has been linked with depression, and is thus a risk factor for suicide, alcoholism and substance abuse. In children, a lack of social connections is directly linked to several forms of antisocial and self-destructive behavior, most notably hostile and delinquent behavior. In both children and adults, loneliness often has a negative impact on learning and memory. Its disruption of sleep patterns can have a significant impact on the ability to function in everyday life.[32]
Solitude is not the absence of company, but the moment our soul is free to speak to us and help decide what to do with our life. And after all who knows you better than yourself? Have a quality time with yourself to hear your inner voice. It is always the best for you. It’s all in your mind; what path you choose to walk on when left on your own. Choose wisely.
But beware my friend, solitude is a good place to visit but a poor place to stay. Nothing can beat the togetherness and love of family and friends. Speak up and talk away all your fears. Somebody out there is just meant to be with you. No man is an island, entire up to himself. If you hear him talk, he wants another one to step on it. Being with people has its own benefits. Even in hospitals, the premature infants are kept together, concept called co-bedding. It is an unconventional way of helping reduce infant death. It lowers the stress hormone levels and physiology of co-sleeping babies is more stable. We all need support, but make sure you don’t cripple without it.
“How sweet, how passing sweet is solitude!
But grant me still a friend in my retreat,
Whom I may whisper- Solitude is sweet”