site.btaWorrying Trend of Underage Girls Giving Birth Persists in Sliven, Medics Say

Worrying Trend of Underage Girls Giving Birth Persists in Sliven, Medics Say

Sliven, Southern Bulgaria, January 5 (BTA) - The worrying trend of underage girls giving birth to children is persisting in Sliven, Dr. Tanya Pramatarova said in an interview for BTA. Dr. Pramatarova heads the Neonatology Ward at the Dr. Ivan Seliminski hospital in the city.

There were a total of 1,287 births at the regional hospital last year. The mothers under 18 numbered 209, including five under 13, 24 aged 14, 34 aged 15, 59 were 16 and 87 were aged 17.

Sliven is a region with a concentration of Roma population and births in this community are frequently at a young age. The bodies of these underage mothers are not fit enough to cope with a full-term pregnancy and that is why premature births are frequent, Dr. Pramatarova said.

Sliven is an area with a high premature birth rate - nearly 15 per cent last year. Over 80 per cent of the premature births are precisely by underage mothers of Roma origin.

Official statistics show that the lowest age for first birth in Bulgaria (21 years) has also been registered in Sliven. In comparison, the average age for first birth for the country is 26.9. In Sofia, the economically most developed region in the country, this age is 29.7.

According to the neonatologist, early pregnancy is a major test for the organism of a child and bears a number of dangers, both for the mothers and for the newborn. Underage mothers suffer from hypertension and many complications. The babies in these cases are premature, have breathing problems and infections. This makes their stay at hospital much longer and costs thousands depending on the treatment applied.

Such is the case of the first baby born in 2017 at the hospital in Sliven, which attracted the interest of the public. Thirteen-year-old Zlatka of the Roma neighborhood in Sliven gave birth to a boy weighing 2,800 g. Dr. Pramatarova said the child has problems with adaptation and was placed in a neonatal intensive care unit.

The underage mother told BTA that she does not plan to have more children in the near future. She has completed fifth grade but she claims she is illiterate. She does not intend to continue school.