FOEQUELLEH TOWN, Bong County – At just 13, Grace should be worrying about homework and friendships. Instead, she’s among hundreds of teenage girls confronting the harsh realities of early motherhood in Bong County—a stark crisis unfolding quietly across Liberia’s rural communities.
Ocilia K. Mombo, a committed midwife at the Foequelleh maternal waiting home, is on the frontline witnessing the painful consequences. “We are overwhelmed by the rising tide of teenage pregnancies,” Mombo revealed, noting with distress the staggering fact that nearly 75 percent of all births at the facility are to teenage mothers, many as young as 13 and 14.
According to alarming figures from the John Flomo Bakalu Government School, at least 34 students have dropped out due to pregnancy in just two years. Hospitals like C.B. Dunbar and Phebe reported a combined 3,592 teenage pregnancies from 2022 to 2024. These numbers underscore not only a crisis of health but a threat to educational futures and livelihoods.
Ocilia K. Mombo, a committed midwife at the Foequelleh maternal waiting home, is on the frontline witnessing the painful consequences
“The youngest girls are now having more children than the older women,” Mombo emphasized, shedding light on a disturbing new trend. Many teenage mothers are abandoned by their partners, further entrenching poverty among families reliant on subsistence farming.
Facing dire conditions, the maternal waiting home lacks essential resources—adequate food, bedding, and reliable electricity. Many expecting mothers endure months of hardship, forced to sleep on worn-out mattresses or even floors. Mombo lamented, “Our mattresses are damaged, food is scarce, and solar power is unreliable. Women often leave the facility in desperation just to find food.”
To combat the growing crisis, Mombo has intensified community outreach, providing family planning resources and education programs in local schools. Yet, despite her efforts, the need for comprehensive support remains urgent. Transportation challenges exacerbate the situation, with families required to bear the costs during medical emergencies, pushing many deeper into financial despair.
As teenage pregnancy rates soar, the community’s resilience is being tested, and the dreams of countless young girls hang precariously in the balance. Urgent action and support are needed not only to improve the facility but to protect the futures of these vulnerable young women.
The question now is whether Bong County—and Liberia as a whole—will step up to meet this critical challenge or continue to watch silently as a generation of girls loses their childhoods to premature motherhood.
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