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Posted on 30 Oct 2008 Tara

Unfortunately, Jamaica should deinitely be on this list..Not only are babies are having babies at an alarming rate, but too many children (and adults alike) are technically not even known citizens of Jamaica, since they were not registered at birth (I obtained over 100 birth certificates in my year of service in Jamaica, and that was one small town). Aside from this, there is little or NO sex education in the schools, esp the poor rural areas, and its not uncommon for women to not understand how they got pregnant, even after giving birth to several children.Jasmine, Knowledge is power! http://ezinearticles.com/?Teenage-Pregnancy-In-Jamaica---The-Reasons-Behind-This-Problem&id=930799According to UNICEF 2006,Teen pregnancy, double exclusion: Approximately 20% of births are given by adolescents. In other words a child gives birth to a child in one out of 5 births. Had all teenage pregnancies been brought to terms the rate would be even higher. This is attributable to a number of factors including high rate of forced sex, transactional sex, low rate of contraceptive use, early sexual initiation, and poor access to information and skills on safe and responsible sex....About one-third (32.8 percent) of women experiencing pregnancy between the ages of 15 and 24 years first conceived while still in school and only 34 percent of adolescent mothers return to school after giving birth (up from 16 percent in 1993) (Friedman 1999).No official existence for 10% of children under one: A 2004 study found that about 10% of births are not registered within the first year of life. The right to immediate registration continues to be violated despite the fact that since 2000 in excess of 96% of total births have occurred in hospitals (98.2% in 2004). Children who are not registered are less likely to be provided appropriate care and protection as their existence is not documented â€“ they are invisible."Rates of teenage pregnancy in Jamaica are among the highest in the Caribbean, with the birth rate for 15-19 year olds at 108 births per 1,000 women. Forty-five percent of all Jamaican women who are 15 to 24 years old have been pregnant by 19 years of age, and 41% have given birth. Females between the ages of 10 and 19 account for roughly 25% of all births in Jamaica and about 22% of births in 15-19 year-olds are second births." http://www.pregnancydigest.info/society-and-teenage-pregnancy-in-jamaica/