THE INCREASE OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY AT NAGURU TEENGE CENTRE IN NAKAWA DIVISION, KAMPALA DISTRICT
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY.
The study is intended to assess the causes of pregnancy among adolescents with reference to Naguru Teenage Information and Health Centre in Nakawa Division in Kampala District as the research case study area. This chapter includes introduction, background of the study, statement of the study, purpose of the study, objectives of the study, research questions. Traditionally, in Uganda there were few cases of early pregnancies because of the punishments that were given to those girls who would get pregnant at an early age. Due to the fear of the punishments in Ankole, girls used not to engage in early sex. The punishments included stoning the girl to death, throwing her off the cliff.
1.1 INTRODUCTION OF THE PROBLEM.
Early pregnancy is pregnancy in females under the age of 18years.
According to the Ugandan health survey 2011, about 14 per cent of young women and 16 percent of young men had their sexual encounter before the age of 15 while 57 percent of young women had their first encounter before the age of 18. Early marriage, early initiation of sex and lack of information are said to be leading drivers of adolescent pregnancy.
According to UNFPA 2012, lack of access to reproductive health information supported with services, has led teenagers into early sex while poverty and cultural practices continue to force girls into early marriages.
Uganda has one of the highest rates of teenage pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa at over 25%. The Ugandan demographic survey|(UDHS) 1995 indicates that by 17 years of age ,43.3% of adolescent girls have begun child bearing and by 19 years, over 70.8% of adolescent girls have given birth or are pregnant with their first child. Regionally, the rate of teenage pregnancy is 30.6% for East Central Uganda, 30.3% for Eastern, 29.7 for Karamoja, 26.4 for West Nile, and 25.6% for North (ending teenage pregnancy-UNFPA Fact sheet, 2012).
There is a close link between poverty and teenage pregnancy. Adolescents from poor households are more likely to become pregnant as compared to those from well-to-do families. (UNFA 2013)
Teenage pregnancy is also higher among uneducated girls. 45% of girls without education have already had a baby compared to 16% of girls with secondary school education (UBOS and macro international Inc 2011).
According to the figures from the Uganda demographic health survey 2011, 15% of young women aged between 20-29 years old were married at age of 15, while 49% were married by the age of 18 years.
49% of Ugandan girls are married before their 18th birthday despite the fact that the law does not allow it.
A significant number of young people lack information about pregnancy or access to reproductive health services, and rely on myths and misconceptions. 54% of young people think that a girl cannot get pregnant the first time she has sex (straight talk foundation report 2013). A young girl is twice likely to die during pregnancy or child birth compared to a mature lady in her 20’s (UNFPA 2013). Defilement is one of the causes of early pregnancy. For example, in 2012, 8,076 cases of defilement were reported to Uganda police (Uganda police, Annual police crime and traffic report, 2012)
There is a lot of cross generation of sex especially among University students. When girls engage in sex with older men, they often have less negotiating power on protected sex.
The challenges associated with early marriages are real; unsustainable population growth and a bottleneck to economic development must be solved. Solving this calls for multi-prolonged approach. Teachers in schools should be empowered to provide regulated dosage of sex education. The poverty that compels parents to give out their daughters in forced marriages has to be tackled. The already existing laws require strict enforcement mechanism.
The psychosocial trauma teenagers go through after pregnancy is indescribable. For the young girls who get pregnant by “accident” or “unwanted” pregnancy. In most cases the probability of marriage stability is nearly half. Ill prepared as they mostly are, the partners are obviously not prepared emotional and materialistically for the role of parenting..
The Uganda police child protection unit has continuously been receiving cases of abandoned children, courtesy of unprepared parents unable to take care of their own kids. A large proportion of over 15,000 street kids who are not going to school and without parental guidance are the potential burglars and robbers or even rebels of tomorrow. Such is along term disaster in the making, to which teenage pregnancy is a contributing factor.
The research was carried out at Naguru teenage health center in Nakawa division. Tribes in the area included Buganda, Banyankole, Iteseots, Bakiga, Batooro and the languages spoken were English, Luganda, Runyankole, Rutooro, Rukiga and Ateso. The activities carried out at the center included Counseling services, post abortion services, providing family planning methods, HIV testing, Antenatal care and post natal care.
1.2 Statement of the problem
Early Pregnancy among adolescents comes with complications like difficulty in giving birth, some adolescents run away from home because of fear of what their parents might do to them or feel ashamed of the pregnancy. Some are neglected by their parents and the society after the pregnancy, and others. In Naguru Teenage center there are many teenagers who give birth on a daily basis, so i decided to research on the causes of early pregnancy among adolescents.
1.3 Objectives of the study
To find out the causes of early pregnancy among adolescents.
To find out the effects of early pregnancy among adolescents on their welfare.
To find out the possible solutions to the early pregnancy among adolescents
1.4 Purpose of the study
To know all the possible causes of early pregnancy among adolescents.
1.5 Research questions
What are the possible causes of pregnancy among adolescents?
What are the effects of early pregnancy among adolescents on their welfare?
What are the possible solutions to the early pregnancy among adolescents?
1.6. Scope of the Study
The study will be limited to three research specific objectives namely. (i) to find out the causes of teenage pregnancy, (ii) to find out the effects of early pregnancy among adolescents on their welfare and (iii) to find out possible solutions to the early pregnancy among adolescents. This study will be carried out in Naguru teenage center, Nakawa division. The study will take a period of three months from June to August, 2017.
1.7. Significance of the study
To the policy makers, the findings will help to contribute the prevention of teenage pregnancy and thereby improve the children and families’ welfare.
The study findings will be a reference for other students and researchers who will be interested in the same field.
It will increase the researchers’ personal skills in research.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
2.0 Introduction
In this chapter the related literature review is presented objective by objective namely: (i) to identify the causes of early pregnancy (ii) to establish the consequences of early pregnancy and (iii) to identify possible challenges in the prevention of early pregnancy and formulate appropriate strategies.
2.1 To identify the causes of early pregnancy
There are several factors which contribute to the causes of early pregnancy, but seems to be one of the major causes among girls from poor communities. The causes of pregnancy in this paper include culture, financial security, lack of education and relationships. All these causes have, in one way or another, something to do with poverty.
2.1.1 Cultural Influence
Cultures have influence on how early girls should fall pregnant or get married. If girls are in a community where girls get married young they are all obliged to follow suit. Erosion of African traditional norms and values on sexual behaviour, inadequate involvement of women in decision making on issues concerning reproductive health and the prevalence of female circumcision cause women to have unplanned babies.
Forced marriages practiced in certain cultures culminate in girls having babies at tender ages. Some families put pressure on their children to get married when they are still too young. Cultural nuances such as children born of teenage parents choosing the same path as their parents or having a family member in prison (Brown 1999; Whalen and Loper 2014) can add to the concerns. The more the children in a family, the poorer they become as they scramble for resources such as food, clothes, proper sanitation and enough room. Therefore, government is blamed for not providing housing for unplanned children born to young mothers who are supposed to be at school.
Family breakdown caused by divorce or the migrant labour system results in children taking care of themselves due to lack of a father figure. When love is not present at home, girls may be forced to look for places where they will feel loved. Sometimes girls themselves want to prove their womanhood due to lack of proper parental guidance. Young girls sometimes want to experiment with sex. The religious leaders or churches sometimes do assist by teaching people to have good morals and condemn early pregnancy as well (Preston-Whyte et al. 1988; Wanjohi 2010).
2.1.2 Financial Insecurity
Ipanteco (2014) argues that poverty is one major contributor to teen pregnancy among poverty stricken girls. Bruenig (2012) asserts that high rates of early pregnancy are a feature of inequality and not a cause of it. He emphasizes that pregnancy is a symptom of poverty. Kamper (2013) adds that poverty causes teen parenting and not the other way round. GPCC (2006) states that the youth living in poverty have a teen pregnancy rate of five times the average rate. The poor socio-economic circumstances seem to play a major role in increasing rates of early pregnancy. Teenage girls from low income families are falling pregnant at a higher rate than those from middle and upper income families.
Posel (2013) stresses that adolescent pregnancy most often is caused by lack of access to schools, employment, quality information and health care. Early pregnancy reflects powerlessness, poverty and pressures from partners, peers, families and communities. In South Africa all children have access to free education and health services. It can be argued that private schools offer a better education as compared to public schools (Muligwe 2012).
Also, the private health sector offers better health care service as compared to the public health care sector because most of the public health care sectors’ resources are overstretched (Motswaledi, 2013). Even if South Africa experiences high levels of poverty and unemployment, and poverty among children is extremely high, government policies promote poverty alleviation (Chitiga et al. 2014). The CSG is a cash grant targeted to eradicate poverty from children.
Solomon (2013) states that there is substantial evidence that child support grants reduce risky behaviour among teens such as sexual activity and pregnancy. They serve to reduce teen pregnancy over time rather than increase them.
Burdette (2012) argues that child pregnancy is an effect of poverty. Yalesias (2012) confirms that women choose to become mothers because their economic outlook is objectively bleak. There is a desire for financial security, and by falling in love with affluent people who will support them financially, women attain this desire. As a result, they are exploited by older men (Decker 2006). Sometimes, even if they were given money for transport to and from school, children tend to hitchhike and fall sexual victims of older men (eNCA 2013).
2.1.3 Lack of Education and Relationships
Education is one of the most effective ways to reduce early pregnancy, but in most of the cases governments do not have funding to provide proper health programmes. Burdette (2012) asserts that childbearing is more likely among women from low income level and education than among their better off peers. Teenage mothers are less likely to finish school and more likely to live in poverty, depend on public assistance and be in poor health (NCSL 2014).
However, alarming figures released by the South African Provincial Education Department indicate that schoolgirl pregnancies have doubled since 2006, despite a doubled effort of spending on sex education and AIDS awareness (IRIN 2007). Ipantenco (2014) confirms that access to quality sex education and health classes are essential during teen years, because the classes teach children how babies are made and what action they can take to prevent pregnancy. It seems that the type of education offered at the South African schools is not good enough to stop the learners from engaging in dangerous sexual behaviors. The explanation maybe that the financial needs of the learners are not being addressed practically, hence they opt for CSG.
Parents do not guide and supervise their children on issues relating to sexuality. Parents’ lack of education about schools and government and sex and relationships is a contributing factor of early pregnancy (Mbeki 2010). Most parents lack both the knowledge and skill to talk openly about sex with their children. They feel disempowered to talk about sex to their children in an environment which emphasizes a right based culture for children. The general knowledge gap filled by the educational gap between parents and children contributes towards the sense of disempowerment (HRSC 2009). Parents’ lack of knowledge about safe sex and use of contraceptives such as condoms, pills, and loops (Deckert, 2010; Posel, 2013) is problematic.
Most of the parents feel disempowered to talk about such things as HIV and AIDS. They leave everything into the hands of government via schools and teachers. As a result, they fail to equip their children with the realities of adult life. Therefore, peer pressure, alcohol abuse, loneliness and lack of belonging take control of teenagers. In most cases, these situations result in unwanted teenage pregnancies (Cause of Early pregnancy 2009). The teenage mothers end up becoming poorer as the envisaged salvation of the CSG proves worthless. Therefore, poverty in terms of knowledge and material possessions causes early pregnancy, which further exacerbates the cycle of poverty.
2.2 To establish the effects of early pregnancy in social settings
Early childbearing has an impact on society, for when individuals cannot realize their full educational and occupational potential, society loses their economic contributions. In addition, if early child bearers utilize public services more than other women, public expenditures on programs such as AID to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC), Medicaid, and food stamps increase.
2.2.1 Schooling
The most general sequence of schooling, marriage and childbearing is that of completion of schooling, marriage, and then childbearing. Because of the time and energy that raising children require, which interferes with the time and energy required to study and attend classes, women who bear a child during the school years often leave before they can complete their schooling (Deckert, 2010). This is especially the case for those who bear a child during the high school years. Results from a number of studies show that young women who bear a child as teenagers are substantially less likely to complete high school than those who bear a child later on. All the studies reviewed show that early child bearers exhibit a substantial educational deficit relative to later child bearers.
Card and Wise (1978) for example, found that young women who bear a child while in high school not only were of lower socioeconomic status when they were in ninth grade, but already had lower academic abilities and lower educational expectations than their classmates, factors which also predict poor school performance and poor later life chances.
Enrollment in special school programs may also affect school completion. In their 17 year follow-up of adolescent child bearers, Furstenberg and Brooks-Gunn (1985) found a strong association between staying in school and attending a special school for teen mothers. Since adolescents who had higher ambitions were much more likely to participate in the special program than to stay in the regular school, and more highly motivated adolescents did better later on regardless of the type of school, this may explain their differential school continuation. However, after controlling for its selective attraction to motivated adolescents, Furstenberg found that the association between attending the school and later well-being remained strong (Furstenberg and Brooks-Gunn, 1985). Those in the special school for pregnant girls did substantially better in later life than those attending a regular school program (and those who dropped out).
Teen childbearing not only has the potential to affect the mother’s education, but has implications for children as well: children born to teen moms often do not perform as well as children of older mothers on early childhood development indicators and school readiness measures, such as communication, cognition and social skills. Research shows that children of teen mothers not only start school at a disadvantage; they also fare worse than those born to older parents later on. For example, children born to teens have lower educational performance, score lower on standardized tests, and are twice as likely to repeat a grade. Additionally, only around two-thirds of children born to teen mothers earn a high school diploma, compared to 81 percent of children born to adults (Deckert, 2010).
2.2.2 Labor Force Participation and Hours Worked
Having a young child consistently lowers labor force participation, whereas an early birth does not. Koo and Bilsborrow (1980), early child bearers (female) appear to be somewhat more likely to be in the labor force 10 years after high school than later child bearers. This is probably due to several factors: 1) since early child bearers start their families early, at 1 and 5 years after high school fewer early than later child bearers are working (Card, 1977). Ten years after high school, however, their children are older while later child bearers have just begun their families and have young children in the home.
Poverty is both a cause and a consequence of teen pregnancy and childbearing. Two-thirds of young unmarried mothers are poor and around 25 percent go on welfare within three years of a child’s birth. Low educational attainment among teen mothers affects their economic opportunities and earnings in later years. Teen mothers are less likely to complete high school or college, and are therefore less likely to find well-paying jobs. This reality is evident in the fact that over the past 20 years, the median income for college graduates has increased 19 percent, while income among high school drop-outs has decreased 28 percent. The economic consequences of dropping out of school often contribute to the perpetual cycle of economic hardship and poverty that spans generations (Chitiga et al. 2014).
Only around 20 percent of fathers of children born to teen mothers marry the mothers. Therefore, child support generally represents a vital income source for these single parent families, accounting for 23 percent of family income among families that receive it. However, teen fathers may pay less than $800 a year in child support, compounding financial difficulties for the parent responsible for day to day care. Teen fathers are often poor themselves; research indicates that they are also less educated and experience earning losses of 10-15 percent annually (Chitiga et al., 2014).
The previous section has shown that AFDC mothers are more likely to have been teen mothers than are American women in general. Three studies have attempted to estimate the cost of teen childbearing in terms of the public expenditures on women who were teens when they had a first birth. This total does not necessarily represent the amount that could be saved if all these mothers had postponed their first birth, since some would have required public assistance regardless of their age at first birth.
Moore (1978) and Wertheimer and Moore (1982) analyzed three data sets to estimate 1975 welfare expenditures on teen mothers. The results show that about half of the AFDC budget goes to households in which the mother was a teenager at first birth, about $4.65 to $5 billion in expenditures just through AFDC (Moore and Burt, 1982). Adding food stamp benefits plus Medicaid benefits to mothers and children increases the total to $8.55 billion in 1975 (Moore and Burt, 1982).
Scheirer (1982) estimated AFDC payments to current and prior teen mothers under age 30 (using the 1975 and 1977 AFDC surveys) to total $2.5 billion in 1975 and $3 billion in 1977. Moore’s estimate of payments to households of women age 14–30 and who gave birth before age 20 was $2.4 billion in 1975. The estimates based on a number of different data sets are very similar.
Block and Dubin estimated AFDC costs for teen child bearers in Monroe County, New York in 1977 and 1978. They found the average cost per case to be $4,262 and $3,494 in 1978 for teen and non-teen child bearers respectively under 30 in that year. Scheirer also found that households of teen mothers received larger grants; however, this was because of the larger number of children of teen child bearers than older mothers. Once other factors were controlled the direct effect disappeared. Block and Dubin showed that over time older child bearers do catch up somewhat; however, substantial differences in family size remain. Scheirer also showed that the length of time on welfare is a function of age at first birth. Early child bearers spend slightly more time on AFDC. Thus the higher welfare cost of early child bearers is due to three factors: the higher proportion of early child bearers who are recipients, the higher cost per case, and the longer duration of payment (Scheirer, 1982:3).
2.3 To suggest possible strategies to reduce early pregnancy
Early pregnancy is a socially, economically, physically and emotionally complex issue. StayTeen.org reports that three out of 10 teen girls in the U.S. find themselves pregnant at least once before age 20. The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unwanted Pregnancy relays that approximately 47.8 percent of all high school students report having sexual intercourse. With serious consequences at stake, ways of preventing teen pregnancy should be a high priority (Posel, 2013).
Abstinence
Abstinence from sex (oral, anal or vaginal) is the only behavior that is 100 percent effective at preventing early pregnancy. In fact, the National Campaign stresses that abstinence from sex is the best choice for teens as it avoids early pregnancy, parenthood and sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Planned Parenthood reminds teens that remaining abstinent is a behavior choice and it can be difficult for some people (Posel, 2013).
Contraceptives
Posel (2013), besides abstinence, using contraception during sexual intercourse can also prevent early pregnancy. Whether using barrier or hormonal methods, contraception can help to avoid pregnancy. StayTeen.org reports that one-third of teenage girls did not use any form of contraception the last time they had sex and 52 percent of sexually active teens reported a primary reason for not using contraceptives is because their partners did not want to. Educating teens about contraceptive methods may help to change attitudes and behaviors toward safer sex practices.
This chapter presents the research design, Area of study, Study population, Sample procedures/strategies, Instruments of data collection, Procedure of data collection, Data analysis sand processing, Data presentation, Limitation of the study.
The descriptive research design will be adopted. It will also employ qualitative method of data collection. Qualitative approach will be used to capture some comments, opinions, ideas, and concepts from the respondents that are relevant to the study.
This study will be carried out at Naguru Teenage Information and Health Centre.
3.3 Study Population
Respondents will be selected using simple random sampling because there are many in number and as such a smaller number will be chosen. Respondents who will include teenage girls (who have children, pregnant and those without pregnancy) will be purposively selected as it is assumed that they have right information as regards.
3.4 Sample Size
A total of 8 respondents will be sampled. This group will be opted for in order to get information concerning the researcher’s area of investigation without concentrating on one area which will not be representative enough.
In this case purposive sampling will be used to select key informants of the study. Purposive sampling will be used because it will enable the researcher to choose the respondents that she thinks will provide relevant information for the study.
3.6 Methods and Tools of Data Collection
Interviews
An interview is a conversation where questions are asked and answers are given. Interview refers to a one-on-one conversation with one person acting in the role of the interviewer and the other in the role of the interviewee. The researcher will strive to get first-hand information by making appointments with individual respondents to answer questions related to the study topic
3.7 Reliability and Validity
According to Posel, S (2013), reliability is the degree to which an assessment tool produces stable and consistent results and validity refers to how well a test measures what it is supposed to measure.
The researcher will use the help of the supervisors who will examine and confirm content validity by checking the items’ and content coverage, relevance, clarity of questionnaire, persistency and ambiguity. The quality and validity of research instruments will be ensured by the researcher through carrying out pilot study, discussing them with the supervisor when seeking expert opinion, taking great care in the choice of section, order and proper structure of questions. The researcher will develop instruments that will be easy to understand.
3.8 Procedure of data collection
The researcher will get an official introductory letter from Research Coordinator at the university which will be presented to the authority to enable the researcher officially conduct the study in the areas with ease. The researcher will then go to the field and the introductory letter will be presented to the respondents on request. It will be important that at the start of every interview, the researcher guarantee to respondents confidentiality to both the respondents and the informants. The researcher will move to the area of study for data collection.
3.8 Data Processing, Data Analysis, Presentation.
The data will be coded, edited and analyzed using both statistical and non-statistical methods and the data collected will be arranged in systematic way to ensure relevancy and adequacy. The researcher will present the findings of the study using, frequencies, percentages or tables.
3.9 Ethical Considerations
According to Lo (2009), ethical research is research that human subjects or participants raise unique and complex ethical, legal, social and political issues. It’s specifically interested in the analysis of ethical issues that are raised when people are involved as participants in research. The researcher shall observe extreme confidentiality while handling the responses and Information will be availed to the respondents that the researcher will not cause any danger directly or indirectly and that participation is voluntary.
3.10 Anticipated Limitations to the Study
The researcher anticipates facing limited cooperation from the respondents. This will be due to their own reasons among themselves being that they may have limited time and interest in providing the information required.
Inaccessibility of key persons in the study. This will be a result of some of them having their own programmes and not willing to provide information.
CHAPTER FOUR
ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION OF RESULTS
4.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the analysis and presentation of results.
4.1 Causes of early pregnancy
According to study findings most respondents indicated, poverty, peer group influence, inadequate knowledge of contraceptives came up strongly as the major socio-economic and socio-cultural factors affecting early pregnancy of teenagers. Even though factors like cell phone usage, lack of sex education and family neglect also contributed to early pregnancy, they did not stand out as the major factors causing teenage pregnancy.
The study identified poverty as the main cause of teenage pregnancy. Poverty is really pushing many female teenagers into premarital sex leading to unwanted pregnancies. Most parents because of economic hardship, the children are given the free will to fend for themselves and this attitude of parents induce their female teenagers to engage in pre-marital sex which unfortunately causes unplanned pregnancies. The head teacher in one of the schools in the district explained that parents find it difficult to cater for the basic needs of their children. Sometimes it is difficult to provide three square meals for the children some girls according to the headmaster come to the school with empty stomachs, no food and no money to buy food. Gyan (2013) also collaborated this by explaining that 94% of the people of Chorkor, a suburb of Accra, either agree or strongly agree to the fact that poverty can lead to teenage pregnancy. Also GDHS (2008) confirmed that poverty is one of the predominant factors that cause most teenagers to become pregnant in Uganda. This was again supported by Uganda Statistical Service (2010) and Clarke (2005) who noted that early pregnancy is highly associated with poverty and that early pregnancy is profound in poverty stricken communities.
About 18% of the respondents explained that the influence of friends encouraged them to take boyfriends and to some extent engage in sexual relations. Adolescents interact easily with their peers than their parents when it comes to discussion of sexual activities. They share information better with their peers than their parents; they share a lot of information including “love” and romantic chats. A peer who had no boyfriend or never had sex becomes a misfit in the group and this forces a lot of the young girls in the district to pick boyfriends which puts them at a risk of becoming pregnant at an early stage of their lives. Kosterman et al. (2008) collaborated this as well as Clarke (2005) who ascertained that peer pressure is a driving force to teenage pregnancy and that teenage girls are forced to engage in unprotected sex for fear of being rejected by the group she belongs to.The in-depth interview revealed that all the ten pregnant girls interviewed have never seen or used the female condom. Some have seen the male condom but explained that their partners have never used them during sexual intercourse. One of the girls said:
“I don’t know what contraceptives are and I have never used some during sexual intercourse. My boyfriend also never used some during sex…”
The study further showed that teenagers do not go to the health centers for birth control practice. This was confirmed by an official from the Health Centre who explained that since she was posted to the Center two years ago, she had never seen a teenager coming to this Health Center to seek advice on how to prevent teenage pregnancy but she sees pregnant teenagers and teenage nursing mothers trooping in here every day for antenatal and postnatal care.
Ignorance of the knowledge and usage of contraceptives put the adolescent girl at risk of becoming pregnant. The education curriculum does not encourage the usage of contraceptives by teenagers as preventive methods to teenage pregnancy but teaching the teenagers only to abstain without teaching them how to use other methods to prevent teenage pregnancy and this put sex loving adolescents at risk of becoming pregnant since they cannot abstain from sex. Once they become pregnant their education is in doubt. This is supported by Buston and Wright‘s (2004) assertion that inadequate use or knowledge on conventional methods of preventing pregnancies is the main cause of teenage pregnancy in most African societies. Also, Newman and Newman (2006) explained that some teenagers do not use contraceptives consistently and in some cases, not correctly. Incorrect usage can lead to tears in condoms and missed doses of birth control pills which can lead to ovulation.
Mobile phone usage by teenagers was one of the causes of early pregnancy in the district. Technology had made cell phones so cheap that it was common to see young females having access to the cell phone. They do not only call their peers and “lovers” but also watch videos of sexual content with their peers and “lovers” and this behavior poses a high risk of practicing what they watch which eventually lead them to pregnancy and dropping out from school. One of the girls said:
“I don’t have a phone, my boy-friend also has no phone, but we normally communicate using our parents’ phones. I know the time my boy-friend will have the mother’s phone, I always flash him at that time and he will then call for us to plan where to meet…”
Also, one of the respondents also said:
“When we were young, anytime we want to see our girl-friends, we will have to go to the girls’ house, hide somewhere and send someone to secretly call the girl for us. Most at times, you may stand there in vain. It may take you several days if not weeks to get the girl. But now the phones have made it so simple for the boys to be able to communicate with the girls especially at night”.
This implies that mobile phones in recent times aid communication among teenagers of the opposite sex. Teenagers do not need to get their own phones before they can communicate to their peers; they communicate using their relatives and friends’ phones. Communication through mobile phone is an easy and quick medium that teenagers of today use to start love relationships. Once the parent has a mobile phone, the child has access to the phone and sometimes more access to the phone than the parent. When teens watch these kinds of videos, it increases their sexual feelings which lead them to pregnancy at tender ages.
The desire for sex by adolescents is a major cause of teenage pregnancy. The teenagers in the district engage in risky behaviors such as unprotected sex without considering the consequences. This is as the result of the uncontrollable inner feelings the girls undergo during their adolescent period.
Death of parents. Some teenage mothers said that they had no one to take care of them like they deserve. Since their parents passed on, their relatives don’t care about their well being hence they do whatever they want.
Poor parental guidance is another major factor contributing to early pregnancy. During the day, most parents are at work, leaving young children unattended to and this attitude of parents give the children enough time to explore some things that might have negative impact on them. Some parents in the district do not show concern about the wellbeing of their adolescent girls; they do not cater for their basic needs. These adolescent girls are therefore forced to look for their own means of livelihood and the simplest way is for them to pick boyfriends who can cater for their daily needs. These men at the end abuse the innocent girls sexually before meeting their needs. This finding is supported by Wright (2004) who explained that girls are allowed by parents to dress like “prostitutes” and boys are trained to treat them as such. They are also allowed by parents to stay out all hours of the night and this attitude was a possibility of young females to become pregnant and eventually drop out from school.
Additionally, parents find it difficult discussing with their children issues of reproductive health as they fear that they might direct them to engage in sexual activities. Also parents feel that they are ill equipped to discuss the topic and therefore choose to avoid talking about sex deliberately. A respondent was quoted;
“It is very difficult for me as a parent to tell my child about consistent condom use, for early pregnancy prevention because when I teach him ways to prevent it is like I will be directing her to practice sex”
When young people have sex with partners older themselves they are at increased risk of engaging in sexual activity, not using contraception, contracting an STI and becoming pregnant
Adolescents who participate in one form of risk behaviour often also partake in other risk behaviours. Respondents indicated that alcohol and drug use increases an adolescent’s chances of unprotected sexual intercourse and, in turn, pregnancy.
Some respondents indicated rape as another major cause of early pregnancy. A large number of adolescent mothers reported a history of past sexual and physical abuse
Also traumatized adolescents turn to substance use, prostitution and running away from home, increasing their risk of early pregnancy. They often partner with adult men as these relationships are viewed as more advantageous in terms of the resources they are able to provide. While such a partnering may initially offer the means necessary to escape a violent family of origin, the imbalance of power and control limits their ability to negotiate contraceptive use.
Family structural characteristics play a vital role in understanding and determining teenage sexual behaviour including pregnancy. Respondents indicated that growing up in a single-parent home or without any parents places adolescents at elevated risk of early pregnancy.
Teenagers who are raised in larger families are also at increased risk of earlier sex than those who are not. This results from teenager’s replicating their siblings’ sexual behaviour or because parental monitoring is spread too thin when more children live in the home.
Respondents revealed that the family has a very early and extensive impact on an adolescent’s belief systems and values, and hence on their behaviour. Consistent parental values have been recognised as a vital factor that influences later sexual debut and decreases the risk of unintended pregnancies. Adolescents whose parents are clear about the value of delaying sex are less likely to have intercourse at an early age. Parents’ values against adolescent sexual intercourse (or unprotected intercourse) decrease the risk of adolescent pregnancy. However, parents with permissive attitudes about sex or premarital sex, or those that have negative attitudes about contraception have teenagers who are more likely to have unsafe sex and become pregnant.
Family members also serve as role models to their children. Adolescents are more likely to initiate sex and experience pregnancy if their parents or other family members have sex outside of marriage, are cohabitating with a romantic or sexual partner or have had a child outside of marriage. Respondents demonstrated that having a mother or sister who was a teenage parent is strongly linked with a teenager herself falling pregnant
4.2 Effects of early pregnancy
It was revealed that the effects of this early pregnancy in the district include school drop-out where the teenage mother had to stop schooling and look after the baby after delivery. One of the respondents said:
“The girls, when they become pregnant they stop going to school. In our school, there was a case like that. The girl stopped coming to school for more than two weeks and when the teachers followed up the parents told them that the girl cannot go back to school because she was pregnant…”
Temporal withdrawal from school was identified as one of the effects of teenage pregnancy in the district. The pregnant expectant mother is not allowed to stay in school but only accepted back to school after delivery. Teens therefore have no choice to stay at school when pregnant. More often than not even those that are allowed to attend school after delivery absent themselves from school since they could not manage their roles as mothers and pupil at the same time.
Apart from the disruption of academic career there are other implications associated with the teenage pregnancy and these include single parenting and the high risk of sexual transmitted diseases which can lead to the death of the teenage mother. Additionally, increasing burden on the limited family resources and increasing the poverty level of the families of the concerned teenager were cases in point.
Early marriages due to the pregnancy. According to these findings, teenagers end up getting married at an early age because they are pregnant. Here it is because their parents send them off to the man who have impregnated her to take care of her and the unborn baby and besides, her parents do that to avoid “shame’’ in the community that their daughter got pregnant and still can’t stay with the one who impregnated her.
Complications at birth. Most teenage mothers were operated on to give birth because they couldn’t push the baby.
Teenage mothers refer to the trauma that they experience when they realise that they are pregnant and the difficulty they face in deciding who to tell and what to do, as well as the negative response they receive from family and friends
Antenatal care has been available to pregnant women without charge since 1994. Yet the embarrassment and discrimination that young women face within the health care system is a deterrent to seeking care early in their pregnancy.
Much like teenage mothers, young men report a strong emotional response – of shock, fear, shame and embarrassment, on hearing about their impending fatherhood. While most teenage fathers involved in the study were not ready for fatherhood, they expressed a deep sense of responsibility for the child and a willingness to be actively involved in the child’s life. Unlike reports from the perspective of young women, few young men spoke of denying paternity. In the context of multiple sexual partnerships these young men were uncertain if they were the father of the child.
Stigma. Respondents expressed that teenage mothers have a fear of being stigmatized by the teen mothers’ family due to their inability to provide financial support to the child.
4.3 possible solutions
The establishment of youth centers will assist in organising the youth at a central venue with the purpose of influencing them positively and hence eliminating the threat of negative peer pressure. In such centers the awareness campaign on the impact of unsafe and unprotected sexual conduct would be discussed together with teenagers both boys and girls.
The high enrolment rates of adolescents in the school setting, provides an important access point for interventions on sexual and reproductive health. Most young people who are engaged in school have not initiated sexual activity and for some, schooling coincides with the onset of sex. As such, the high coverage of adolescents in the school setting provides an important leverage point to delay the onset of sex and to ensure that those who are sexually active are able to adequately protect themselves.
Respondents suggested that parents are well positioned to influence the sexual behaviour of their children. Yet parents and adolescents seldom discuss sexuality because of the discomfort related to talking about sex.
A number of interventions should be trialed to improve parent-child communication and a limited number of studies have focused on improving parenting involvement and monitoring. While studies report difficulty in recruiting parents into multi-session programmes, when they do participate, parents increase their own comfort in talking about sex and in communicating with their children about sexuality in the short-term. Respondents also indicated that parent-child programmes can influence sexual behaviour, particularly condom use.
Peer programmes have gained currency over the years as a strategy to intervene with adolescent sexual and reproductive health because it takes advantage of existing networks of communication and interaction, and because peers have been identified as important determinants in adolescent sexuality and a range of adolescent risk behaviours. Peer programmes, generally recruit and train a core group of young people who, in turn, serve as role models, and sources of information and skills development on adolescent sexuality.
Respondents indicated that Peer educators should participate in a number of multi-component programmes – as a complement to teachers in school-based programmes, to distribute condoms outside of health services, to create demand for health services in community-based settings, and in a number of mass media interventions.
Study respondents suggested that family planning services should be provided to young people with the purpose of making available reproductive health services, providing contraception including condoms and improving their knowledge and skill to use them.
Mass media is an appealing strategy to influence young people’s sexual and reproductive health because of its ability to reach large numbers of young people (one key informant). Given the appeal and allure of mass media to young people, it has been used extensively to change knowledge, attitudes and behaviour regarding HIV and AIDS.
Respondents also suggested that youth development programmes should be improved to engage teenagers. As when young people perform well at school, are connected to the school, their families and other institutions in the community, and have definitive plans for the future, they are less likely to fall pregnant
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
5.0 Introduction
This chapter presents the conclusion and recommendations to the study
5.1 Conclusion
There are many causal factors to teenage pregnancy such as poverty, peer pressure influence, lack of basic needs, low usage and inadequate knowledge of contraceptives, idleness and desire for sex.
The effects of teenage pregnancy and its implication cannot be overemphasized. Teenagers find difficulty in taking care of the child due to little finances, fear responsibilities, drop out of school, going through C-section and traumisation due to fear of being a parent.
Therefore to minimize early pregnancy there is need for the government to introduce more peer educators and programs to communities. Also bringing family planning methods close to communities, income generation for poor students, practicing safe sex and parents monitoring their children being their role models and talking to them about sex
5.2 Recommendations
The establishment of youth centers by the District Assemblies will assist in organising the youth at a central venue with the purpose of influencing them positively and hence eliminating the threat of negative peer pressure. In such centers the awareness campaign on the impact of unsafe and unprotected sexual conduct would be discussed together with teenagers both boys and girls.
Parents should be encouraged by the assemblies and the chiefs to talk openly and freely with their children about sex. If children get proper information and guidance from their parents at home they would disregard whatever misinformation they come across outside the boundaries of their homes.
The schools are very important in the shaping of children’s future and ultimately the future of the country as a whole. It is therefore recommended that education on sex and sexuality should not just be a concept but should be developed further as a complete discipline and much more research should be conducted to that regard. In schools this should be introduced as a complete learning subject.
It should not be included in other learning areas but should enjoy autonomy as a learning curriculum. By doing this learners would be exposed to first hand information instead of ill-informed advice they can get from their peers.
Contraceptives in the form of condoms, birth control pills and so on should be made freely available at schools. Some learners for some reason are not adequately exposed to proper contraceptives, therefore it is recommended that learners should get them at schools and constant education on the correct way of using such contraceptives should also be introduced as that may help to overcome the problem.
Finally, a review of some public policies concerning children will help in this direction for example, allowing children as young as twelve to access contraceptives without parental consent should be reviewed. While it is important to work on reducing teenage pregnancy, the emotional, developmental and financial needs of pregnant teenagers should be considered in policy making to prevent the teen mothers to end up being trapped in the cycle of poverty.
INTERVIEWER GUIDE
- How old are you or how old were you when you had your first child?
- What do you think caused you to have children at a young age?
- What were the challenges that you faced being a parent at a young age?
- What do you suggest should be done to reduce teenage pregnancy.
