Rise in unplanned pregnancy risk

According to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics, adolescent girls who suffer from mental health problems and also abuse alcohol are far more likely to have an unplanned pregnancy than those who do not drink.

Dr Simone Vigod led the research team at the Women’s College Hospital in Toronto. She explained: “girls with major mental health problems are more likely to have those kinds of social problems and drug and alcohol problems – problems with impulsivity, feeling badly about themselves”.

Although the study was mostly concerned with mental health conditions, it did highlight the risk of combining alcohol and mental health problems.

The combination of drinking and mental health problems has a worse outcome for many teenage girls in low income families. It is not just city youngsters who are affected; teenagers in rural areas are also more likely to become pregnant.

The combination of substance misuse, low self-esteem and child abuse are all factors that increase the chance of a teenager becoming pregnant and contracting a sexually transmitted disease.

Girls with bipolar disorder are especially vulnerable when they have been drinking alcohol. Often inhibitions are completely lost and no attempt is made to use a physical contraceptive method to prevent pregnancy and the spread of STDs.

Dr Simone Vigod explained: “Or if a girl with bipolar disorder is manic or has been drinking, say, then you’re disinhibited and then you don’t protect yourself as much either.”

Another problem is that alcohol interacts with bipolar drugs. Around 60% of people with bipolar disorder will experience a major alcohol or drug problem at some point in their lives, which will greatly increase the risk of pregnancy.