Awareness of prevention of teenage pregnancy amongst secondary school learners in Makhado municipality

Abstract

BackgroundSexuality plays a very significant role in the lives of both boys and girls. It is, therefore, considered important for schools to recognise and accept sexuality as part of the development process of the child. Professor Kader Asmal (previous South African Minister of Education) suggested that the earlier the school begins to teach learners about sexuality, the better because they can be easily misled by their peers if proper guidance regarding their sexuality is not given.AimThe current study was conducted to assess the awareness of teenagers on the prevention of teenage pregnancy (TP) in six secondary school learners situated in the Soutpansberg-West circuit, Makhado Municipality in Limpopo province.SettingThe study was conducted at six secondary schools situated in the Soutpansberg-West circuit, Makhado Municipality in Limpopo province in 2014.MethodologyA quantitative descriptive survey study was conducted where data were collected, using self-administered questionnaires, from 381 systematically sampled participants from six secondary schools situated in the Soutpansberg-West circuit, Makhado Municipality in Limpopo province. Data were analysed descriptively using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) software, version 22.0. Necessary approval procedures and ethical clearance were obtained prior to data collection.ResultsNinety-four percent of participants agreed that TP can be prevented through abstaining from sex, whilst 65% of participants agreed that TP could be prevented by using contraceptives such as pills and injections. Eighty-three percent of participants agreed that TP could be prevented through the use of condoms. Seventy-four percent participants disagreed that bathing after sex prevents teenage pregnancies. Furthermore, 28% participants agreed that TP can be prevented by oral sex.ConclusionThe conclusion drawn was that learners are aware of the measures for preventing TP.

Prevalence and Associated Factors of Teenage Pregnancy among Secondary and High School Students in the Tiko Health District, South West Region, Cameroon

“…The findings revealed that the majority of participants (70.40%) were aware of teenage pregnancy. This was a lot similar to the 68% and 68.95% average seen in a 2016 South African study [11] and 2018 Cameroonian study [22] respectively.…”

“…One in four deaths among 15 -19-year-old female pregnancies are of maternal origin [10]. More also, another findings from a study carried out in Makhado municipality, South Africa indicated an increase in awareness of teenagers in that municipality about preventing teenage pregnancy 15 years after a sexual awareness program was initiated in the said locality [11]. Furthermore, a UK based study reported an increase in the knowledge of women about emergency contraception after taking part in an awareness study for 6 months [12].…”

A qualitative study of factors that protect against pregnancy among sexually-active teens in the South African Birth to Twenty Plus cohort

“…Our ndings concur with other studies which have reported that adolescents have the ability to make positive decisions e.g. consistent condom use [11,22], which not only protect them from early pregnancies but also from infections such as HIV [16]. However, this is dependent on having supportive family and peers -especially those who provides them with relevant information [29].…”

“…Similar to other studies, participants in this study reported having been exposed to risks such as negative in uence from friends/peers who pressured them to have sex, culture/taboos and religious beliefs that prohibited communication about sex amongst young people [10,11]. Despite this, our ndings suggest that adolescents who did not become pregnant by 18 years were able to navigate choices, distinguished between healthy and unhealthy behaviours, and integrated multiple sources of information to protect themselves.…”

“…Predisposing factors for adolescent pregnancy include early marriage, gender-based violence [10,11], lack of comprehensive sexuality education [12], poor reproductive health services [13] and lack of skills and power to negotiate safer sex options [10]. Poor parental supervision and single motherhood (due to parental separation) [14], unstable families, poor mother-daughter relationships [15], limited conversations between parents and adolescents on issues around sex [7] have also been associated with adolescent pregnancy.…”