Sarawak still has highest number of unmarried teen pregnancy cases

PETALING JAYA: Sarawak continues to have the highest number of unmarried teen pregnancies with 859 cases recorded last year. This is followed by Sabah (329), Selangor (317), Johor (315) and Perak (223), the Health Ministry’s (MOH) family health development division revealed.

Although the number of adolescent new antenatal cases registered at the primary healthcare facilities reduced from 10,349 cases in 2019 to 8,153 in 2022, the number of unmarried teen pregnancies were still prevalent.

In 2019, there were 4,163 such pregnancies, followed by 3,831 (2020), 3,233 (2021) and 2,908 (2022).

The MOH National Health and Morbidity Survey (NHMS): Adolescent Health Survey (AHS) 2022 revealed that 154,646 adolescents in the country had engaged in sexual activities, with 33% having engaged in sexual activity before the age of 14.

The age of consent for sex in Malaysia is 16.

The survey was conducted from June 12 to July 8, 2022, involving secondary students aged between 13 and 17.

Even more shocking was that 75% of them reported having sex recently, with 88% not using condoms or birth control options. Equally disturbing was that 11% of the teens had more than one sexual partner.

Parliament was told last year that on average, 10,000 pregnant teens opted for services at government health facilities every year.