Childbearing in the Context of the Child Support Grant in a Rural Area in South Africa

Abstract

Although teenage pregnancy appears to be on the decline in South Africa, it is still high and a matter of heated debate. Some commentators argue that the child support grant is fuelling the high levels of childbearing among young women in South Africa. To investigate this relationship, qualitative data using in-depth interviews was conducted with women aged 18 to 24 years who were recipients of the child support grant. The study was conducted in Mtubatuba, which is located in northern KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa. The women in the study denied that they had children to access the grant. They pointed out that the grant is minimal and did not cover the cost of raising a child. The women identified a range of factors that contribute to childbearing including inadequate knowledge about sex, gender relations, lack of access to contraceptive services, and risky behaviors. Age appropriate and youth friendly health services should thus be a priority for government in tackling this problem.

“My partner was not fond of using condoms and I was not on contraception”: understanding adolescent mothers’ perspectives of sexual risk behaviour in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

“…The economic empowerment of adolescent girls including financial literacy is essential to combat poverty and transactional sex [87]. Gender and power inequality in adolescent romantic relationships also increases young women's susceptibility to HIV infection [77].While transactional sex is a natural concern, adolescent mothers in this study had stated that the provision of lavish gifts is an important part of a loving relationship. In this regard, the nature of adolescent romantic relationships needs to be further explored.…”

“…While the literature suggests that some adolescent women are intentionally becoming pregnant for material gain by exploiting the child support grant [77,78], the participants in our study focused on the sexual exploitation of poverty stricken adolescents by older men. Gender inequality and the power struggle in a relationship compromise the sexual and reproductive health of adolescent women [79].…”

Exploring condom use decision-making among adolescents: the synergistic role of affective and rational processes

“…These changes include the increase in access to and use of technology and social media which is often associated with exposure to sexually-explicit social media accounts and sexually-orientated reality television predicting willingness to engage in casual sex [ 16 ]. Diverse perspectives on childbearing and marriage including shifts in cultural, sociological and demographic views of childbearing and marriage have seen an increase in births outside of marriage [ 17 ], as well as the onset of puberty and changing social roles such as changes in the age of onset which influences adolescent risk behaviour and the increase in premarital sex among young men and women [ 11 , 18 ].…”

A Phenomenological Analysis of Rural Women’s Childbirth Preferences

“…However, against the widely held family value, "women are homemakers; where men are providers"; things are changing about the empowerment of women and their role in familial decision-making (Hwang, 2018;Tiliouine & Achoui, 2018). Similarly, the pregnancy rate is higher in non-urban areas (Ngubane & Maharaj, 2018). In urban areas, the hike in education has raised employment opportunities and shared, or reduced economic dependence on men, and thus women gain negotiation power in marriage, childbirth, and decision-making power (Al- Khraif et al, 2020;Hwang, 2018;Khraif et al, 2017).…”

“…Poor interpersonal relationship with Lady Health Workers or health care providers often leads young rural women to unawareness of modern contraceptives. Also, they believe that the fear of being judged, confidentially, and the right to privacy is not maintained at these health care centers (Ngubane & Maharaj, 2018).…”