Teenage pregnancies: Era of children with own children

 

Ray Bande
Senior Reporter

A MOTHER’S arms are made of tenderness, and children sleep soundly in them, but when the mother is a teenager, chances are that, both the mother and the child are in need of arms made of tenderness to sleep soundly in.

This is the daily emotional and physical burden that teenagers who are having children are facing as they rush into motherhood at a time when themselves are also still in dire need of care, guidance and motherly love.

After all, there is more to life than increasing its speed, they say!

Only recently, National Aids Council (NAC) Manicaland provincial monitoring and evaluation officer, Mr Sibert Hlatywayo made startling revelations that a massive 13 353 teenagers were impregnated in 2024 across Manicaland Province.

Although the 13 353 was a slight drop from the 2023 figures of 14 027, the high figures of teenage pregnancies and marriages remain a cause of great concern, at least for the sake of future’s sake.

“On teenage pregnancy and fertility rates, historically, we have high teenage pregnancy rates in Manicaland. From 2018, the prevalence of teenage pregnancy was as high as 27 percent which was higher than the national figure of 20 percent.

“From 2024 alone, we have seen from statistics in our data base that we have almost 161 girls who dropped out of school because of pregnancy and child marriages.

“The implication of this that they are creating vulnerability for the girl child and missed opportunities. They are then missing out on education, health and economic opportunities.

“Looking at the school dropouts for 2014, we lost 149 in secondary schools and 12 in primary schools because of child marriages. These are Grade Seven and below. In terms of pregnancies, we have three reported at primary level and 53 at secondary school,” he said.

Local psychologist, Dr Denmore Masango said: “There are known potential causes of teenage pregnancy that include lack of access to comprehensive sex education, limited access to contraception, poverty, lack of economic opportunities, peer pressure, low self-esteem, early marriage, sexual violence, family and community pressures, and cultural norms.

“Some of the factors include insufficient information. Many teenagers lack adequate knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, including contraception, safe sexual practices, and the risks of early pregnancy.

“This dovetails into access to accurate and age-appropriate information about sex, and relationships may be limited due to cultural norms, religious beliefs, or lack of resources.”

Dr Masango pointed out that lack of contraceptives as well as stigma and cultural barriers linked to the use of contraceptives has also resulted in high numbers of teenage pregnancies.

“It is a fact that there is limited access to contraceptives to most of our teenagers. The high costs involved are also a factor. Contraceptives can be expensive, making them inaccessible for some young people. There is also lack of availability. Contraceptives may not be readily available in all areas, especially in rural or underserved communities.

“Attached to that are issues related to cultural norms or religious beliefs may discourage the use of contraception. Poverty and economic hardship are also factors that contribute to this trend as well as limited opportunities.

“Poverty can limit access to education, employment, and other opportunities, making it harder for young people to plan their futures, and avoid early pregnancies,” he said.

“In some cases, family pressure comes into play. In some cases, families may encourage early marriage and childbearing as a way of providing economic support.

“Peer pressure and social influences have also been contributing immensely to teenage pregnancies, especially for those in urban settings.

“Peer groups can exert significant influence on young people’s behaviours, including sexual activity and contraceptive use,” added Dr Masango.

Cursory internet research also revealed that low self-esteem contributes to teenage pregnancies.

Some young people may engage in risky behaviours, including early sexual activity, as a way to gain attention or feel valued.

It is widely accepted in some cultures that marriage is arranged at a young age, increasing the risk of early pregnancy.

Forced marriages are also prevalent in some communities. Young people may be forced into marriage against their will, leading to unintended pregnancies.

The research also showed that sexual violence, rape and sexual assault has also contributed to the regrettable status quo.

Teenage girls are particularly vulnerable to sexual violence, which can lead to unintended pregnancies, while lack of support from family to community level has worsened the situation.

Victims of sexual violence may not have access to adequate support services, including contraception and medical care.

Young people may lack the support of their families or communities to make informed decisions about their sexual and reproductive health.

There is a fair share of physical challenges that come with teenage pregnancies.

 

Renowned Mutare gynaecologist, Dr Miriam Kanyenze said teenage pregnancies are likely to result in Intrauterine Growth Restriction (IUGR), also known as fetal growth restriction (FGR), which occurs when a fetus fails to grow at the expected rate during pregnancy, resulting in a baby smaller than expected for gestational age.

“What happens is that effects of teenage are very massive and can cause a number of problems. I have categorised them into fetal and maternal, whether they are psychological or medical.

“On the fetal part, there are high chances of them delivering low birth weight babies, intrauterine growth restriction and also difficult deliveries because of poor development of their skeletal pelvis, leading to birth injuries and that is called CPD or obstructed labour.

“Also the baby can have anaemia because of poor nutrition of the mother. The mother is prone to pregnancy induced blood pressure. They are more prone to pre term labour leading to problems of prematurity. Some of the babies might have Neural Tube Defects (NTDs) are birth defects of the brain, spine, or spinal cord that occur when the neural tube, the structure that develops into the brain and spinal cord, doesn’t close properly during early pregnancy,” she said.

Dr Kanyenze also highlighted other psychological impacts of teenage pregnancies.

“Psychologically, the mother might have low self-esteem, mental health stress, sadness and even suicidal thoughts. They can feel isolated. They can skip classes, assignments or projects leading to eventually dropping out,” he said.

 

However, it is the physical challenges of teenage pregnancies that even complicate the situation for the young mother.

 

“Because of the bones, especially in our set where we have poor development owing of poor social economic status, the mothers can labour at home and end up obstructed labours which lead to either fistulas, that is Obstetric Fistula is a serious childbirth injury characterized by an abnormal opening between the birth canal and bladder and/or rectum, this might also result in leaking urine or leaking faeces into the vagina.

“They might also have caesarean section which might lead to a lot of morbidity, where they have chronic pelvic pain. Some of them might not even have children afterwards, they can also die or malnutrition that leads to anaemia.

“The other thing that we have seen with these teenage pregnancies is that they have very high chances of performing unsafe abortion. Compared to older age groups, they actually have 9,1 percent of having unsafe abortions in comparison to the five percent of other populations,” said Dr Kanyenze.