Study: Pregnancy reduces girls’ opportunities and autonomy in Brazil
Pregnancy during childhood or adolescence interrupted the education of six out of ten (61%) young women interviewed in a study entitled Marcas do Tempo: Gravidez na Infância ou Adolescência e seus Impactos na Vida de Mulheres no Brasil (“Traces of Time: Pregnancy in Childhood or Adolescence and Its Impacts on the Lives of Women in Brazil”), conducted by the NGO Plan Brasil. The study surveyed…
A recent study conducted by the NGO Plan Brasil reveals that pregnancy during childhood or adolescence significantly limits the educational opportunities and autonomy of young women in Brazil. The survey, which polled over 1,500 women aged 19 to 29 across the nation, found that 61% of those who became pregnant during their youth had their education disrupted, compared to only 33% of the group that remained childfree.
Plan Brasil CEO Cynthia Betti emphasized that pregnancy during this stage of life exacerbates existing inequalities, impacting education, health, labor market prospects, and basic rights.
The study also uncovered that 83% of respondents had to abandon a job or miss a career opportunity due to child-rearing responsibilities. Additionally, 73% of the women surveyed reported facing discrimination because of their pregnancy, both within their families and in various settings such as schools and healthcare facilities. This prejudice against young mothers is a recurring theme in the survey responses, with many women describing judgmental attitudes toward their intellectual, moral, and professional capabilities.
Interestingly, the study found that 59% of young women who became pregnant before turning 19 subsequently married or entered domestic partnerships shortly after their first pregnancy. Moreover, there was a 19 percentage point increase in the likelihood of marriage before age 16 among those who became pregnant before the age of 14.
Notably, half (50%) of young women who became pregnant before age 14 did not have access to legal abortion services, despite Brazilian law classifying pregnancy in this age group as statutory rape.
Betti stressed that these young women do not merely lose a job or a year of schooling; they lose the chance to chart their own paths at a critical moment when they most need autonomy. She argued that reversing this situation requires the implementation, monitoring, and funding of integrated public policies focused on prevention rather than isolated responses.
Betti emphasized the importance of listening to these stories to transform statistics into a public commitment. The study also recommended ensuring rights-based sex education, unhindered access to contraceptive methods, daycare centers with flexible hours, combating obstetric violence and contraceptive coercion, and first-job policies aimed at young mothers.
Written by urgent.news from Agencia Brasil's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
