Pune youth grapple with live-in relationships' googlies

Pune youth grapple with live-in relationships' googlies

Anuradha Mascarenhas Posted online: Fri Nov 19 2010, 11:05 hrs

Pune : Live-in relationships may be frowned upon for many reasons, but that couples studying in Indian colleges invariably have no clue about how to handle a child that may come along the way is an undeniable one. Counsellors at a few city adoption centres say many students, living with their partners, have been approaching them with problems of an unwanted pregnancy.

‘We had two cases recently. One was that of engineering students who told their parents that they are staying in hostels but shared a flat and are in a live-in relationship. The students were extremely worried about the pregnancy as the other means of aborting the foetus had failed. They went ahead with the delivery and sent the child to our centre to be adopted,” says Madhuri Abhyankar, director of Society of Friends of Sassoon General Hospital (SOFOSH)'s adoption centre Shreevatsa.

SOFOSH has now set up Matruka, a support group for such unwed mothers, and at any given time there are ten such women who meet regularly. Some of them are economically disadvantaged while a few are well educated and unmarried. From 1974 till 2009, SOFOSH has registered 2,574 adoptions. As part of the adoption week November 14-21, it has decided to conduct counselling and pre-adoption meetings.

Bharatiya Samaj Seva Kendra (BSSK) executive director Roxana Kalyanwala also had a few recent cases where the college students had no clue about how to handle similar situations. Dr Jayant Navrange, chief paediatrician at the Shreevatsa adoption centre says such couples should at least shoulder the responsibility of properly delivering the baby and consulting the adoption centre if they do not want the baby. While the cases are few, there are several unwed mothers who do approach the adoption centres and are counselled.

Psychiatrist Dr S Pathare attributes such a trend to the lack of sex education among young adults and that they don't know whom to consult during such a phase. "If schools talk about sex education and use of contraception measures, most parents immediately raise a hue and cry that they are encouraging children to experiment with sex."

Dr Parag Binniwale, gynaecologist, also said many youngsters had come to him seeking advice on contraception methods.