Karnataka has seen over 80,000 teen pregnancies in last three years

While the case of a class 9 student delivering a baby in her school hostel has shocked the State, teenage pregnancies have always been a matter of concern in Karnataka. The State reported an alarming 80,813 teenage pregnancies (children aged between 14 and 19) in the last three years.

While Bengaluru Urban tops the list with 8,891, Belagavi and Vijayapura follow with 8,169 and 6,229, respectively, according to data from the Health Department’s Reproductive and Child Health (RCH) portal.

High and low

While Udupi and Dakshina Kannada, apart from Kodagu, have been consistently reporting the lowest number of underage pregnancies in the last three years, North Karnataka districts, such as Davangere, Bagalkot, Ballari, Bidar, Chitradurga, Haveri, Raichur, and Kalaburagi are among those regions that have reported nearly 2,000 such pregnancies each in the last three years, according to data tabled in the recently-concluded session of the legislature.

Data on the age-wise teenage pregnancies showed the highest have been reported in the 18-19 age group. While 276 have been reported in children aged between 14 and 15, 786 have been recorded in the 15-16 group since 2023-2024. As many as 2,397 pregnancies have been recorded in the 16-17 group and 11,136 have been reported in the 17-18 group. 

Alarmed by the increasing teenage pregnancies in the State, the Health Department has stepped up measures through stricter enforcement, awareness campaigns and community interventions, said Health Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao.

Earlier, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had directed seven key departments, including Health, Education and Women and Child Development, to form a central task force to coordinate interventions. The State has also operationalised committees from the panchayat to district level and strengthened the 24/7 child helpline 1098.

‘Akka Force’

Women and Child Development Minister Laxmi Hebbalkar, responding to JD(S) member C.B. Suresh Babu in the Legislative Assembly, said the government has rolled out the “Akka Force” initiative to address the crisis. This initiative is a special patrol led by women police officers and supported by NCC cadets, to monitor public spaces, prevent child marriages and provide counselling to vulnerable adolescents. The initiative was launched in Mysuru, Belagavi, and Mangaluru and will be expanded across the State, the Minister announced.

The government is simultaneously pushing sex education, cyber safety and awareness of the POCSO Act in high schools, while leveraging welfare schemes like ICDS, Mathrupoorna and Bhagyalakshmi to support adolescent girls. The State Cabinet recently cleared the Prohibition of Child Marriage (Karnataka Amendment) Bill, 2025, which makes even the engagement of minors a punishable offence.

Social media exposure

Experts attributed the trend to factors such as early exposure to social media without adequate education, child marriages, and a lack of awareness on reproductive health. 

Savitha C., medical superintendent of the State-run Vani Vilas Hospital, said teenage pregnancies are a significant contributor to Karnataka’s maternal and infant mortality rates, as adolescent mothers face higher risks of complications such as anaemia, obstructed labour, preterm births, and low birth weight babies. 

She pointed out that girls under 18 are often physically and emotionally unprepared for childbirth, which increases the likelihood of maternal deaths and neonatal fatalities. Inadequate antenatal care, coupled with social stigma and a lack of access to health facilities, further aggravates the risks, making teenage pregnancies a critical public health concern, she asserted.

Published – August 28, 2025 08:23 pm IST