ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY ASSOCIATED WITH MARIJUANA USE: CASE STUDY

Abstract

Pregnancy is a significant event in the lives of families and, in particular, of women. When it occurs during adolescence, it can result in a higher level of vulnerability or social risks for mothers and also for their children, particularly newborns, since, at this stage, the child is particularly vulnerable and dependent on adult care. Adolescence, in itself, is a phase of self-affirmation, of physical, psychological and social transformations. In this regard, a pregnancy entails, for the adolescent and future mother, in addition to the physical and emotional transformations inherent to pregnancy, the responsibility for another life, which requires biological, psychological and socioeconomic maturity to provide for her own needs and those of her children (UNFPA, 2017).
According to data from the Ministry of Health, adolescent pregnancy has been the subject of debate, investigation and public policies in Brazil due to its high rates. According to a report published in 2018 by the Pan American Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), the global adolescent pregnancy rate is estimated at 46 births for every 1,000 adolescents and young women between the ages of 15 and 19. In Latin America and the Caribbean, the rate is estimated at 65.5 births. In Brazil, one in five babies is born to a mother between the ages of 10 and 19, the number reaches 65 births, exceeding that of the region2. Furthermore, in the country, the proportion of births to mothers between the ages of 10 and 19 is 18%3. (Santos, 2019)