Childbirth at a young age is a national phenomenon, drawing the attention of Dr. Marius Craina, a specialist in obstetrics and gynecology at Maternity Hospital Bega in Timișoara, as reported by News.ro.

"When it comes to giving birth at increasingly younger ages, we can say that it is a national phenomenon. (...) This poses a problem not only for the young girls who become pregnant at such an age, but also for the medical system in Romania. The main concern is related to the severe deficiency in health education in Romania, which should ideally instill a medical culture in children from a young age, especially when it comes to their health and women's understanding of pregnancy", explains the physician.

He emphasizes that Romania is facing an increasing number of cases where girls aged 12-15 become pregnant and give birth at these ages.

"They lack basic, vital knowledge about pregnancy, pregnancy monitoring, and what a pregnant woman should do during the 9 months of gestation. Consequently, we encounter a range of health challenges affecting both the mother and the child. These issues could be prevented if there were a higher level of medical education that equips them with a comprehensive understanding of the requirements during pregnancy", added Marius Craina.

Asked about what it means, from a medical perspective, for a 12-13-year-old girl to give birth, Marius Craina explained that the young mother's body undergoes significant changes.

"We are talking about a young body, in a period of development and growth. Practically, all the organs are in continuous motion, development and have not yet reached maturity. Of course, this fragile body undergoes significant physiological changes. Many times, the reserves that the mother needs to provide during pregnancy for the normal development of the fetus in the womb are often insufficient or depleted", Craina added.

In most cases, natural childbirth becomes impossible when it comes to future mothers who are still minors.

"Of course, we are talking about the physiological act of childbirth, about a pelvis that has not yet reached maturity. Many times we are dealing with dynamically modified pelvises because their dimensions do not correspond to those of an adult woman. Thus, many times, natural childbirth becomes impossible due to the immaturity of the pelvis, which can be compounded by a problem related to the intrauterine weight of the fetus. We advise to closely monitor and supervise the pregnancy, birth attendance being a challenging task for the obstetrician. Birth must take place in a medical facility", Craina further stated.

When asked if postpartum depression occurs at these ages, Craina stated that underage mothers do not fully understand what it means to give birth to a child.

"A 12-13-year-old girl does not fully grasp what it means to give birth to a child and become a mother when she herself is a child who plays with dolls and is loved by family members and treated as a child. When the pregnancy is desired by the entire family, in most cases, there is a sense of joy and happiness. You basically wake up with a baby in your arms, while you are also a child held by your family. If the family gets involved, and grandparents provide psychological support to the young girl, most of the time, there is a feeling of happiness. Rarely have I encountered postpartum depression at this age", Craina further clarified.

Psychologist Ovidiu Telegescu added that many times, the children of these underage mothers are born with health issues.

"We have underage mothers giving birth to children and the problem is that a large part of these children are sick because the health of the underage mothers was poor, and the births were not monitored. So, yes, if we want to do something, we need to focus on prevention on all levels. If we don't take preventive measures, we won't reduce the phenomenon", Ovidiu Telegescu stated on Medika TV.