A study of nearly 4,500 women from all different backgrounds in the UK has shown that several early life factors have an impact on the age at which most girls experience their first pregnancy.
It seems that girls who are separate from their mothers for a period of time in the first 5 years of their life are more likely to get pregnant at younger ages. If the separation from the mother is longer than 2 years that effect changes, and has been found to prolong sexual inactivity by a few years. The women whose mothers had been separated from them permanently at an early age, such as those whose mother’s died had often been part of a stable family afterwards and were less likely to have teenage pregnancies.
The results of this study suggest that the security of attachment has a profound impact on a developing child. The study also showed that a short duration of breast feeding, frequent housing moves and the lack of a paternal figure for guidance and influence all led to younger pregnancies.
At this time the development of the reproductive cycle, hormones and ideals attached to sexuality and procreation have been studied in females, the next step will be to examine men from the same broad range of lifestyles and experiences concerning their sexual activity.
There is so much information available these days about how to prevent pregnancy but with girls younger and younger turning up pregnant it is obvious that there are extenuating circumstances leading to this evolution. Can the type of lifestyle you have when you are young affect the age at which you become sexually active or decide to procreate?
