Views of teenagers on termination of pregnancy at Muyexe high school in Mopani District, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

BackgroundTeenage pregnancy is a global social health concern especially because of the HIV and AIDS pandemic, sexually transmitted infections, high rate of termination of pregnancy (TOP), adolescents’ parenthood and decreased level of contraceptives.AimTo explore the views of teenagers on the TOP at Muyexe high school in a rural village of Mopani District, Limpopo Province.SettingMuyexe high school in a rural village of Mopani District, Limpopo Province, in South Africa.MethodologyA qualitative method using explorative and descriptive designs was used to find in-depth description and understanding of teenagers’ views on TOP. The target population was girls aged 15–19 years at Muyexe high school in Mopani District. Non-probability, convenient sampling was used to select high school teenage girls who had undergone TOP for the study. Data were collected using individual self-report technique (interview). Tesch’s eight steps of qualitative data analysis were used. Measures to ensure trustworthiness and ethical considerations were observed.ResultsTwo major themes were revealed: (1) Views of teenagers regarding TOP (poverty, relationship problems and single parenthood, negative impact on the teen’s life while attending school) and (2) teenager’s fears regarding pregnancy (stigma, fear of parents and friends, rape and incest and fear of giving birth).ConclusionMajority of participants had knowledge about TOP; some had experiences about TOP while others held inadequate knowledge. Recommendations were based on the findings by teaching dangers of TOP and various contraceptive methods to prevent unwanted pregnancies and TOP.

Early motherhood: voices from female adolescents in the Hohoe Municipality, Ghana—a qualitative study utilizing Schlossberg’s Transition Theory

“…Some of the adolescent women in this study narrated how they tried to abort the pregnancy to avoid any embarrassment. This finding is consistent with others (Atuyambe et al, 2005;Ramakuela, Lebese, Maputle, & Mulaudzi, 2016).…”

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“…rape or incest); the South African cohort also reported fears of physical trauma due to childbirth as a reason for abortion. 30,31 Baba et al, in Japan, also showed that girls 10-14 were more likely to experience pregnancy due to rape or incest than older adolescents. 32 In Nigeria, adolescents who had undergone abortion were significantly more likely to have experienced transactional or forced sex.…”

“…28,34 Dahlback et al, in Zambia, and Ramakeula et al, in South Africa, confirmed that girls consider pregnancy shameful and stigmatising for themselves and their families, often leading them to undergo an unsafe abortion. 29,30 Poverty and fear for the girls' maternal health were also important factors in abortionseeking in a number of contexts including Nigeria and Bangladesh. 19,33 Timing of abortion and post-abortion care Once the decision has been made to terminate a pregnancy, adolescents are more likely to delay the timing of abortion and post-abortion care.…”

Intra and extrafamily sexual abuse violence against children and adolescents resulting in pregnancy attended at a health reference service, São Paulo, Brazil

“…It seems reasonable to suppose that for children and adolescents, as well as for their legal representatives, it may be less tolerable to keep gestation resulting from incest, leading to lesser giving up of abortion. This lesser tolerance may include social and cultural factors, such as the findings of the Ramakuela et al 26 study, concluding that incest was decisive for the option to abort among South Africa adolescents, as some of the girls believed that to keep gestation would bring curse and break to the family.…”