Response to paper 3

Reviewing the literature, the author notes that pregnancy and childbearing during adolescence is generally associated with greater risk of clandestine abortion, delivery complications, and low birth-weight infants and higher rates of maternal mortality. From an overview of current trends in fertility in the less developed countries, the author suggests that adolescents are at high risk of HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases. Furthermore, that although fertility has been declining in the past 20-30 years in most of Africa, the fertility gap between the rich and poor has widened.