GADAG: Thanks to the awareness campaigns, including a Ratha Yatra, being held for the last few years, the number of teenage pregnancies in Gadag district dropped to four in 2025, as against 44 in 2023 and 14 in 2024.
The programmes include street plays organised by the district Child Protection Unit in rural areas. Awareness has also been raised through advertisements, children’s helpline 1098, and programmes in schools and colleges. The police department, as well as anganwadi supervisors, workers and helpers, have actively participated in these campaigns.
An official from the Child Protection Unit said, “In teenage pregnancy cases, most children drop out of school, and some even leave their homes. We are now trying to bring the number down to zero.”
In rural areas, some parents feel that they need to get their daughters married off as soon as possible and free themselves from responsibilities. Some of them also marry off their daughters due to lack of education and superstitions.
Doctors cite lack of sex education among children, lack of proper understanding about adolescent problems among parents, poverty, unemployment, superstition and love affairs as other reasons behind teenage pregnancies.