The consequences of young people's sexuality
Progress in human reproduction research 1997(41): 7-8
1997
ISSN/ISBN: 1564-0655 PMID: 12348106 Document Number: 532675
Women who engage in unsafe sexual intercourse may be at risk of unwanted pregnancy and/or infection with sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). In a study of male industrial workers and students in the Republic of Korea, 21% of the sexually experienced workers and 11% of the sexually experienced students reported having caused pregnancy in a female sex partner. Most of the pregnancies were aborted, but 13% of the workers and 11% of the students became fathers. 22% of the sexually experienced workers and 8% of the sexually experienced students reported having had a STD, and some reported having sexual intercourse while infected. In a survey of students in Ilorin, Nigeria, 13% of the males reported having caused pregnancy, of which 70% were aborted. 9% of the females surveyed reported being pregnant at least once, with 77% ending in abortion. 10% of the young women reported experiencing abnormal vaginal discharge during the year before the study. A study of young men and women in rural Thailand found that only slightly more than half of the male respondents with STDs sought medical care from a physician; others either bought medicines from pharmacies or received no treatment at all.