Half of minors with unexpected pregnancies first have sex at 14

Over 50 percent of the underage girls who have experienced unexpected pregnancies first have sex between the ages of 14 and 16 years old, and a small proportion of them experience their first intercourse at 13, according to a study.

The figures were released by Dr. Nguyen Duy Tai, head of the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department of the Ho Chi Minh City Medicine and Pharmacy University, at the National Symposium on Sexuality and Reproductive Health held by the Public Health University in Hanoi yesterday.

Through a study conducted at three health entities, Hung Vuong Hospital, Tu Du Obstetrics Hospital, and the HCMC Reproductive Healthcare Center, Tai and his associates found that the proportion of underage girls who experience unexpected pregnancies has increased from 2.15 percent in 2008 to 2.45 percent in 2009.

Of these girls, 50.7 percent first have sex between the ages of 14 and 16 years old, 44 percent at 17, and 5.3 percent at 13.

Some underage girls even said they first experienced voluntary sexual intercourse when they were only 10 years old.

“There are cases of early entry into puberty– at 8 years old. In this study, we recorded three cases in which girls first had sex at the age of 10-12.”

According to the study, the age at which unexpected pregnancy usually occurs ranges from 14 to 16, which coincides with the puberty age of most girls, Tai said.

Therefore, sex-related risks may easily come from the relations between children of these ages and their friends of the opposite sex if they are not paid enough attention and interest from their parents, he said.

Students of Bach Dang Junior High School, in District 3, HCMC, learn about human body part in an extracurricular course (Photo: Tuoi Tre)

Contributing factors

The possibility of experiencing unexpected pregnancy decreased 0.62 times in underage girls who lived in families where the parents paid proper attention to their children, who are undergoing many psycho-physiological changes during puberty, as compared to girls whose parents failed to give them such care, Tai said.

Besides the family factor, some other contributing factors on sexual life and reproductive health of underage girls were also discussed at the seminar.

Nguyen Kim Thuy, deputy director of the Research Center for Gender, Family and Environment in Development, said sex education and sexual health have long been part of the three main subjects in curriculum at schools, but a recent survey showed that only 17 percent of students at high schools know about the most favorable time for conception.

Parents often hope teachers will teach their children about sexuality and sexual health, but in fact, the information related to sex received by students from teachers is usually a very small proportion of the total sex-related information obtained by underage students from various sources, including the Internet and mobile phones, Nguyen Thu Giang, deputy director of the Institute for Development and Community Health – LIGHT, said.

Meanwhile, pornographic images or videos on the Internet have uncontrollably stimulated sexual desire in underage, leading to early sexual intercourse and unexpected pregnancy among minors, Thuy said.

Moreover, there have been cases in which high school students suffered from sexual disorder after abusing sex films, clips and books and other sex-related materials disseminated on the Internet, said Le Minh Cong, of the Psychology Department of the HCMC University of Social Science and Humanities.