The numbers of adolescents giving birth in the Northern Cape have rocketed, with the Education Department saying 900 pupils in the 10-19-year-old age group fall pregnant every three months.
Statistics show that pregnances in this age group rose from 129 223 in 2019 to 139 361 in 2022.
In an attempt to stem the tide, the department last week it launched a teenage pregnancy campaign, News24 reports.
However, a researcher has previously warned that kid-glove handling is vital otherwise schools could land up violating pregnant pupils’ rights.
Nirvana Pillay, a Wits School of Public Health visiting researcher, said schools, families and the wider community play a critical role in determining a young woman’s decision, and that while support and encouragement could keep them in school, stigmatisation and exclusion could push them out entirely.
Pillay, whose research on the issue was originally published in the South African Journal of Child Health, said the Health Department needed to ensure that school management representatives and governing bodies are well-versed in policies on pregnant pupils.
“Individual schools need to strike a balance between treating pregnant pupils like any other learner and accommodating their particular needs. The increased risk of pregnant children dropping out of school should be seen within the broader package of care and support offered to vulnerable pupils, and teachers should be trained to offer psychosocial and other support.
“Schools can also link pregnant and parenting girls to health and social services,” she wrote.
Provincial MEC Zolile Monakali expressed concern about the pregnancies and their effect on pupils’ futures.
“Making matters worse is that we also record an average of 20 pregnancies in girls between 10 and 14 years every three months. This is shocking.
“Apart from the pregnancies, and the emotional and physical trauma, these girls and their babies also risk getting sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) and HIV/Aids. And there are other health implications associated with early sex and pregnancies, like obstetric fistula, infant death, maternal death, eclampsia and cervical cancer.”
Study details
Pathways to school completion for young mothers: Are we winning the fight?
N Pillay
Published in the SA Journal of Child Health on 4 September 2019
Abstract
Background
Policy initiatives in South Africa are directed at promoting the educational and developmental outcomes of girls and young women (age 15 – 24 years). These include decreasing the incidence of HIV infection, teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence, and increasing school attendance and economic empowerment. This article explores the contexts of pregnancy, motherhood and schooling in a sample of young mothers in an urban area in Johannesburg, South Africa.
Methods
This ethnographic study, based in a poor urban area in Johannesburg, South Africa, recruited 30 young mothers aged 18-20 years with whom open-ended interviews were conducted. Each mother was contacted three months after the first interview, and again three months later. In addition to the first round of 30 interviews, nine young mothers were interviewed in the second round, and six young mothers in a third round. A total of 45 interviews were conducted.
Results
The findings illustrate how young mothers mediate constraints and challenges to continue and complete their schooling when confronted with a mistimed and unintended pregnancy. A combination of factors converge to facilitate or impede school continuation and completion. Key barriers include school policy and discrimination against pregnant learners, limited options for childcare, and high levels of poverty and unemployment that strain existing scarce family resources.
Conclusions
The pathway to school completion is complex and non-linear. Three particular interventions that support school attendance and completion for young mothers have value: the child support grant, the availability of crèches in the community, and a school policy that upholds the principle of inclusivity for pregnant learners and young mothers.
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Teen pregnancies surge in Eastern Cape
Urgent action needed to reduce teen pregnancies – KZN Premier
36 teen pregnancies, half HIV+, at a single Limpopo school