CHENNAI: In Malayankuppam, a hamlet 12 km from Porur, the parents of a 12-year-old girl was recently got her married her off to a 17-year-old boy because he had a permanent occupation job as a knife sharpener. The boy has not completed his schooling. No one in the village objected to the marriage either, as they did not know it that the marriage was legally invalid.

Members of the Obstetrics and Gynaecology Society of Southern India that has adopted the village had a tough time convincing the villagers to come in for a check-up, says Hebzibah Kirubamani, its presidentof the Society.

"Teen pregnancies are more common that we would like to think. Unlike in the past, there is better awareness and girls come in early for a [medical] termination when they discover their status but that does not lower the complications or the risks due to abortion," she says. At the Raja Sir Ramasamy Mudaliar Hospital in Royapuram, where 30 to 40 children are born each day, at least two of the 100 unplanned pregnancies are among married teenagers. Dr. Hebzibah, the resident medical officer, says such unplanned teen pregnancies are not confined to a single socio-economic group either. Gynaecologists see many such events in private practice too, she says. Most of those pregnancies may not have occurred due to contraceptive failure.

Added to this is the fact that out of 10 unplanned pregnancies that a gynaecologist might see in a government hospital, at least two could be related to workplace exploitation.

Madras University research scholar Sukanya Srinivasan did a study on reproductive health of married women in the slums and lower income groups in south Chennai. She found that if a woman contributed half or more than half the family income then she had more power to make decisions regarding raising a family. The poor did not have enough education or awareness to make informed choices, her study found. For a woman to be able to make a decision about family planning she should be able to make informed choices, she says.

Both Dr. Hebzibah and Dr. Sukanya say it is necessary to give importance to adolescent care and peer education instead of merely imposing thrusting technology on women. It takes effort and time to gain the confidence of build confidentiality with youngsters, says Dr. Hebzibah. The first step is to improve awareness about personal hygiene and sexuality. More important, pre-marital counselling should be provided to prepare the youngsters, the experts say.

The OGSSI's experience with school and college students has shown them that in a class of 100 at least 10 would ask questions after a counselling session. "The Internet has made our job easier. Students have more information," says Dr. Hebzibah.

But building bridges with poor, illiterate women is a difficult task. "The women come readily if we tell them we are from a bank but not when we say we are doctors."

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