20% of women become mothers before 18 years of age

Twenty percent of Dominican women become mothers before the age of 18, which directly impacts the country’s economic development and condemns girls and adolescents to the cycle of poverty and their environment.

The finding is in the first advance of the survey “ENHOGAR MICS 2019” presented on Tuesday by the National Statistics Office (ONE), with the support of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).

It was also shown that 15% of the women surveyed had sex before the age of 15, and 20% had sex with a man ten years older than them in the 12 months before answering the questionnaires.

The study indicated that 63% of women between the ages of 15 and 49 who were interviewed had a cesarean delivery.

In addition, it shows that 53% of the respondents who had their birth in a public hospital did so naturally, which contrasts completely with the reality in private medical centers. According to the study, only 10% of the interviewees had a vaginal birth.

A fact to highlight is that 44% of the women surveyed are shown as “head of the household.”

Children’s conditions
The progress of the report does not indicate why they did not register the births of their children.

Another fact to highlight about the child conditions in the country is that 8% of children five years of age or younger suffer from overweight, 3% underweight, and 7% have growth problems.

It also shows that 54% of children live with only one of their parents.

8% of children under five years of age are left in the care of another child ten years of age or younger.

Violent disciplines
The study also indicated that 64% of Dominican children suffer from “violent disciplines.” The age group that receives the most violent (physical reprimands) punishments is 3-4 years old, whose index is around 70 percent.

The report notes that between 2 and 17 years of age, 50% of minors receive psychological aggression from their parents or guardians.

Education
The study also addressed the educational part, which indicates that 48% of children between 3 and 4 years old attended some available early childhood care program.

However, 71% of the women surveyed between the ages of 20 and 23 completed high school.

Sheet
The survey covered the entire national territory in a probabilistic sample of 31,448 households interviewed, with a total of five questionnaires focused on women, children and education.

The act

The activity was led by the first lady and director of the Children’s Cabinet, Raquel Arbaje, who stressed the need to update the statistics.

“In the case of children and adolescents, the survey offers relevant data to guide the design of public policies that prevent the deficits detected from compromising their future development. These are data that put in front of our eyes a reality that must be addressed without delay,” said Arbaje during her speech.

Also present were the Minister of Economy, Planning, and Development, Miguel Ceara Hatton; the director-general of the ONE, Miosotis Rivas Peña, and the resident representative of UNICEF in the Dominican Republic, Rosa Elcarte López

Objectives.
The sixth round of ENHOGAR MICS 2019 in the Dominican Republic collects relevant information in a standardized and internationally comparable manner on children, adolescents, and women to monitor the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The technical team of ONE and UNICEF presented the technical sheet and the main demographic, household, sample data, and the most relevant information on women and children.