In Chile, Mexico and the Caribbean, studies indicate that adolescent mothers will have more children than those who start childbearing later, and will live with parents or other family more often and for longer periods. Fewer of the children's fathers will head the household or provide financial and other support. Pregnancy has become the principal cause of death among girls 15 to 19 in the Dominican Republic. Nearly one in four girls in this age group is either pregnant or has already given birth. Teens are encouraged to postpone their first sexual encounter or to maintain a faithful relation-ship with one partner.
Many girls resort to abortion.
Usually this is clandestine and unsafe, because in most countries abortion is not legal except under certain circumstances. Even where abortion is legal, many young women resort to unsafe abortion, due to social stigma and inaccessibility of health services. While reliable data are scarce, an estimated 70,000 deaths each year result from the 20 million or so unsafe abortions that occur every year. Many of these deaths occur among adolescent girls and young women. The effort to control young women's sexuality can impose physical harm.