According to 2017 data, the highest number of births to teenage mothers (aged 17 and under) took place in Romania - 9154, the UK - 5360, France - 4361 and Germany - 4152. In Poland, there were 2318 births, which ranked us seventh.

According to data published by the Central Statistical Office, teenagers are getting pregnant less and less often. In 2020, 7116 girls aged 15-19 gave birth to children. In contrast, 38 teenage girls aged 14 and under became mothers. All pregnancies in Poland that year were 356,540. In comparison, CSO data from 2016 shows more than 11,000 pregnancies among girls aged 19 and under.

This may be influenced by an increasing awareness of the hardships of motherhood and the possibilities of contraception. Invariably, the number of teenage pregn ancies increases in proportion to age. A logical explanation may be the frequency of intercourse - studies show that girls aged 18 and 19 have an active and regular sex life.

Teenage pregnancies are now becoming increasingly rare. However, if a young girl finds herself in such a situation, she should be helped first and foremost to deal with the negative opinion of those around her, which can have a bad effect on both the development of the pregnancy and the mental health of the pregnant woman.

- The most important thing is that the young woman feels the support of her loved ones and is not left alone in this situation. The teenager should not be forced to talk when she is not ready for it. Yelling, resentment and reproaches will not be a good counsellor either, says Agnieszka Cichecka, psychologist, psychotherapist and educator.