Summary of the Workshop

Summary of the workshop

2008

INTRODUCTION

-  Presentation of participants

-  Expectations of participants

-  Objectives of the workshop

THE AUNTIES PROJECT

-  Prevalence of teenager pregnancies in Cameroon

-  Testimonies by two mothers on how early and unwanted pregnancies of their daughters after them, the family and the community

-  Testimonies of an Aunty from a different town or village

-  Why the Project and basic data on early and unwanted pregnancies in Cameroun (data from the profile of Aunties)

PUBERTY

It is the time of life when a child experiences physical and hormonal changes that mark a transition into adulthood. The age at which puberty starts in not fixed. For girls, it is between 8 and 16 yrs while for boys, it is between 11 and 18 yrs.

CHANGES OBSERVED IN BOYS

§  The chest and the shoulders become bigger

§  Development of beard on the chest and chin

§  Development of pubic hairs

§  Penis and the testicles become bigger

§  The testicles goes down to the scrotum and begins to produce sperm

§  Unexpected erection

§  Wet dreams.

CHANGES OBSERVED IN A GIRL CHILD

§  Development of breast

§  The hips increase in size

§  The genital organs begin to develop and the ovary starts producing ovules

§  Menstruation begins

CHANGES OBSERED IN BOTH

§  Increase in weight and height

§  Development of muscles

§  Development of the genital organs

§  Pimples may appear on their faces

§  Their sweat produces stronger odour

§  Attraction to the opposite sex

§  Awareness and consciousness of sexuality

§  Fertility

§  They become moody.

MENSTRUATION

Definition:

It is a natural phenomenon that is characterised by a monthly flow of blood from the uterus through the vagina. This only occurs when fertilisation has not taken place. It begins at puberty and ends at menopause.

Fertilisation: It is the meeting of the ovule and the spermatozoa leading to the formation of an egg.

Ovulation: It is when the ovary liberates an ovule ready for fertilisation.

Manipulation of the menstrual cycle (calendar 2008-2009)

EARLY AND UNWANTED PREGNANCY

Early pregnancy: It is that pregnancy which occurs in a girl of less than 18 years. It is a pregnancy that can cause many problems in the life of a young girl.

Unwanted pregnancy: It is that pregnancy which occurs when we do not expect. It is involuntary and could cause health and other problems.

CAUSES OF UNWANTED PERGANCIES

Direct causes

Unprotected sexual intercourse

Indirect causes

·  absence of dialogue with parents

·  Naivety

·  Wrong calculation of the menstrual cycle

·  Lack of information on sexual education

·  Mismanaged puberty

·  Search for luxury

·  Prostitution

·  Bad friends

·  Rape

·  Poverty

CONSEQUENCES OF UNWANTED PREGNANCIES

§  On the girl

Educationally

·  The girl will drop out of school and it will lead to an increase in school drop out and illiteracy in women.

·  She could stop her trade (saloon, tailoring…)

Physically

The immaturity of the genital organs could cause problems like:

·  Problems during delivery because the womb is not mature

·  Stitches or episiotomy

·  Over bleeding

·  Fistula

·  Eclampsia

·  Operation

·  Retarded growth

·  Beauty fades away

·  Secondary sterility

·  Crude abortion

·  STI,AIV/AIDS

·  Death

Socially

·  An increase in single parents

·  An increase in your needs ( more expenditure)

·  Misery

·  Lack of respect

·  A possible end in the relationship

·  Stigmatisation (rejection, isolation)

·  Prostitution

·  Early and forceful marriage

Psychologically

·  Depression

·  Frustration

·  Inferiority complex

·  Aggressiveness

·  Sadness

·  Rejection of the baby

On the child

·  Not welcomed into the family

·  Lack of paternal love

·  Low birth weight

·  Ignorant about the biological father

·  Retarded growth

·  Poor nutrition leading to malnutrition

·  Poor education

·  May be exposed to juvenile delinquency

·  Bleak future

On the boy (author)

·  Risk of going to prison

·  Early paternity

·  A slow down in activities (may be sent out of school or job)

·  May become a thief or a delinquent

·  Drop out from school

·  Irresponsibility

·  Regrets

·  Forceful marriage

Parent and society

Parent

·  Disgrace on the family

·  Division within the family

·  Mother is blamed

Society

·  Loss of a student

·  Poor development

·  Increase in school drop out

·  Gossip

·  Hatred

·  Increase illness in the society

·  Increase in juvenile delinquency (street children)

ABORTION

Definition: it is the spontaneous or provoked expulsion of the embryo or the foetus from the uterus.

Types of abortion

·  voluntary abortion ( hygienic , crude)

·  Involuntary abortion ( miscarriage )

Immediate consequences

·  Death

·  Over bleeding

·  Infections

·  Perforation of the uterus

·  Removal of the uterus

·  Severe pains which might lead to death

Secondary consequences (prolonged)

·  Sterility

·  Chronic infection

·  Cancer

·  Tetanus

·  Fistula

Prevention

·  Consult a medical personnel

·  Abstain from sex

·  Practice safer sex

·  Do not practice crude abortion

NB: Some Complications due to crude abortion, could have a disastrous impact on the health of the young girl.

Hygiene:

For us to have good health, our environment has to be kept clean. And so:

·  We have to clean up our surroundings, houses, kitchen utensils, dresses, those of our children and younger ones. We have to make sure that, our body, those of our baby and younger ones are also kept clean.

·  Let’s not keep standing water around our houses. We could drop kerosene in it so as to avoid mosquitoes and other insects.

·  Let’s make sure we always clean our toilets

·  Let’s always sleep in a mosquito net to avoid malaria

·  Let’s drink potable water to avoid diseases. ( cholera)

NUTRITION

It is not the quantity of food that matter but the quality.

Always try to take a mixed and balanced diet.

We need protein, carbohydrate, fats and oil, vitamin, mineral salt, iron water in order to be healthy and strong

SEXUALLY TRANNMITTED DISEASES

Seropositive: Person living with HIV

Opportunistic infections: Infections that take advantage of the weakness of the immune system

AIDS Patient: An AIDS patient is an HIV patient who is suffering from opportunistic infections.

Manifestations of STIs

·  Painful urine

·  Abdominal pains

·  Vagina discharges

·  Itches

·  Wounds on the genital organs

·  Pimples on the genital organ

·  Frequent bleeding

·  Painful sexual intercourse

·  Loss of hair

How are STIs transmitted?

Through sex

·  75 to 80% through unprotected sexual intercourse

Through blood

·  Blood transfusion

·  Sharp objects soiled with blood

·  Scarification and blood pact.

From mother to child

·  During pregnancy

·  During delivery

·  During breast feeding

HOW TO AVOID EARLY PREGNANCIES, STI, HIV/AIDS

·  Abstinence

·  Always seek for advice

·  Avoid early sexual intercourse

·  Correct and Systematic use of condom

·  Contraceptive methods

·  Family dialogue

Advantages of Abstinence

·  Good health

·  Not costly

·  Prevents early pregnancy

·  Prevents STI,HIV/AIDS

·  No site effect

·  Prevents abortion

What to do in case of an STI

·  Go to the hospital

·  Do not do auto medication

·  Buy drugs from the pharmacy

·  Always use condoms during sexual intercourse

·  Respect the prescribed dose of your treatment

·  Respect rendezvous ( doctor)

·  Inform your partner or partners.

Testimony of a young woman living with HIV

·  How she discover her status

·  What happened to her/ partner or family

·  Where does she seek treatment and what treatment now

·  Why is it important to do HIV test for young people?

·  Questions and answers

·  NB: After this testimony, the person living with HIV will be in the workshop for one week, also to guide participants who may have a positive HIV screening test

·  NB: HIV screening test is offered to all participants.

What are the qualities of a good Aunty?

·  Organised, motivated, dynamic, committed, patient, tolerant, available, honest.

·  Should be able to put herself in the place of others in order to give good advice.

·  Should be polite and soft spoken in order to build confidence.

·  Should be gentle, understanding, and sociable in order to sensitise.

·  Should have the ability to listen and dialogue.

·  Should be a model.

·  Should be lively, available, and exceptional.

Communication

Definition

Communication is the exchange and flow of information and ideas from one person to another. It involves a sender transmitting an idea to a receiver. Effective communication occurs only if the receiver understands the exact information or idea that the sender intended to transmit.

Types of Communication

·  Inter-personal communication (counselling)

·  Group communication (educative talks)

·  Mass communication (media, journal, leaflets)

Means of Communication

·  Letter writing

·  Telephone

·  Verbal news

·  Internet

Factors favouring Communication

·  Adapted language

·  Mastery of the subject matter

·  Organisation

Factors hindering Communication

·  Unadapted language

·  Poor mastery of the subject

·  Faulty information

·  Poor organisation

·  Noise

·  Inappropriate site

·  Lack of time consciousness

·  Wrong target

Usefulness of Communication

·  To communicate is to inform, to express something, it is to persuade.

·  To communicate is to help others change behaviour

·  It is to help others adopt a less risky behaviour

Behaviour to adopt during sensitisation or educative talks

·  Greet politely

·  Present yourself (name and where you come from)

·  Reasons for your visit

·  Ask for permission to go ahead

·  If the person is not busy, negotiate another rendezvous

·  If the person refuses a rendezvous, thank her for wasting her time and say you are sorry.

·  If the person accepts the rendezvous, make sure you respect it. Make sure the message goes through.

·  Give available documents on the subject (flyers, calendars)

Role of an Aunty

·  Educate, care and support adolescents

·  To orientate sexually active youths, through the adoption of less risky sexual behaviour.

Behaviour to promote

·  Abstinence

·  Correct and systematic use of condoms

·  To be well informed so as to better inform.

NB: When possible, film projection on rape and incest, unwanted pregnancies or HIV/Aids every evening during the training in different quarters in the locality.