The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of teenage pregnancy on educators in the rural high schools at Thabo Mofutsanyane district in Eastern Free State. This study aimed to achieve four objectives which were to identify the impact of teenage pregnancy on educators; to identify the challenges that educators face when dealing with pregnant learners; to identify the form of training educators receive in preparing them to deal with teenage pregnancy; and lastly to identify the kind of support educators feel they are being given to help them deal with teenage pregnancy. Participants were eight Life Orientation educators from two high schools and two principals in the respective schools. Participants were identified using a purposive sampling method. Interviews and one focus group were conducted with educators and principals from the two schools. Interviews were tape recorded, transcribed and translated into English where necessary. The collected data was analysed using thematic analysis. The results of the study showed, firstly, that educators face a number of challenges including a lack of training and resources, poverty, lack of parental involvement, as well as a lack of policies and clear guidelines to be used when dealing with pregnant learners. Secondly, it showed that teenage pregnancy tends to have a negative impact on educators because they receive little support in dealing with pregnant learners. Thirdly, it showed that teenage pregnancy tends to have negative impact on educational performance because pregnant learners are distracting to the class and they are distracted themselves. This tends to affect the school’s overall performance which reflects negatively on educators. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2013.

This qualitative study was conducted at Minenhle High School (pseudonym) in Mgugu, a deep rural area in Umbumbulu, KwaZulu-Natal. It explored the way in which six pregnant young women between ages of 16 and 17 talked about their pregnancies. All the young women emerged from a working class background. The purpose of this study was to investigate why these young women fell pregnant; and the gendered dimensions of pregnancy. Gender-power theory was used to show how male dominance reproduces female submissiveness and influences sexual negotiations and thus increasing vulnerability to unintended pregnancies among young African women. Focus groups and individual interviews were used to produce relevant data for this study. However, the same study finds that some young women see the need to challenge accepted gender norms which often promote and encourage female submissiveness and oppression. Socio-cultural influence emerges whereby these young women have failed to access and use contraceptives due to socially constructed myths regarding the effects of contraceptives and fear of going to the clinic to access contraceptive services since this will reveal to the parents that they (young women) are sexually active; hence viewing sex as secret and clinic as public. The findings of this study also show intergenerational silence on issues of sexuality between these pregnant young women and their parents or caregivers which encourages them to rely on their peers for support, information and advice. This study also found a decline in the value of ukuhlolwa kwezintombi (virginity testing) as a strategy for preserving young women’s virginity, discouraging unintended pregnancies and reducing the rate of HIV infections; due to socio-economic and religious reasons. Findings of this study were used to develop strategies that challenge cultural, gender power imbalances as well as breaking intergenerational silence thus encouraging a healthier and more positive sexuality among young people in Umbumbulu. / M. Ed. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban 2013.

The current study investigated the experiences of unwed adolescent mothers in faith communities, the Roman Catholic Church in particular. The study was motivated by the fact that, despite the Christian sexual ethic, which prohibits sex outside wedlock, many young unmarried women in faith communities do become pregnant. The study thus sought to investigate the lived experiences of these young women, their psychological and social experiences of unwed motherhood in the church community. Factors contributing to teenage pregnancy, sources of social support and possible intervention mechanisms were also explored. A semi-structured interview schedule was developed, and thirteen (13) participants ranging in age from 18-22 years were interviewed individually and in focus groups. The results indicate that unwed teenage mothers in faith communities experience a range of psychological and social experiences, including frustration, feelings of depression, social exclusion and discrimination by fellow church congregants. Stigma theory and stigma consciousness were used to account for these experiences. Peer pressure and gendered power relations were cited among the causes of unwed teenage pregnancy, while payment of damages and re-admission to the community of believers following a confession were cited among the sources of social support. The study concludes that sex education and communication between parents and their teenage girls are essential in dealing with the problem of unwed teenage pregnancy. The study concludes with recommendations for practice and further research. / Thesis (M.A.) - University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2009.

A study investigating the contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of coloured unmarried pregnant teenagers.

A study investigating the contraceptive knowledge, attitudes, beliefs and practices of coloured unmarried pregnant teenagers.

The focus of the study was an evaluation of a pregnancy prevention program. The study was designed to look at the adolescent pregnant and parenting population in the Adolescent Family Life Program, which serves about 300 clients in Southern California.

Text in English / Teenage pregnancy remains a major social, economic and health challenge in South Africa. The consequences of unplanned teenage pregnancies are devastating. The current study explored the impact of teenage pregnancy on disadvantaged adolescents in Mpumalanga. Fourteen adolescent girls were selected, using the purposive sampling technique. The objectives were to explore the experiences of adolescence, as well as their knowledge of various methods of preventing teenage pregnancy, and how they cope with the pregnancy. The study further explored programmes that are available to assist with teenage pregnancies in the community. Data was collected using in-depth one on one interviews to allow the researcher a platform to ask open-response questions. The data was thematically analysed by carefully categorising and expanding significant themes that emerged from the participant’s responses. The study revealed that lack of knowledge about sex and contraceptives, unhealthy coping strategies, lack of support from parents and peer pressure are all effects of teenage pregnancy and the reasons for participating in unprotected sexual activities. Recommendations for overcoming these challenges were provided to the community, schools and government organisations as guidelines in the establishment of youth programmes. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

Adolescents have become focal points of discussions and debates regarding sexuality and reproductive health matters. However, little research has been done particularly in South Africa to examine their knowledge concerning abortion and emergency contraception. Research indicates that a substantial proportion of adolescent pregnancies are unintended or unwanted. Abortion and emergency contraception are both time-sensitive services. Thus having accurate and comprehensive knowledge about both abortion and emergency contraception is pivotal, in the case of unintended or unwanted pregnancy or when engaging in unprotected sex or experiencing contraceptive failure that could lead to pregnancy. The 1994 International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) defined reproductive health rights for both men and women as the right to "decide freely and responsibly the number, spacing and timing of their children and to have the information and means to do so" (p. 60). That is, men and women should "have the right to make decisions concerning their reproduction free of discrimination, violence and coercion" (ICPD, 1994, p.60). Based on these definitions, it is rather evident that comprehensive and accurate knowledge are at the core of one's ability to make an informed consent. This is confirmed by Adler's (1992, p. 289) definition of informed consent or choice "a) access to sufficient information b) understanding the information c) competence to evaluate potential consequences d) freedom to make a choice and e) the ability to make and express that choice". It is from this framework that this study emerged. The aim of this study was to examine adolescents' knowledge concerning abortion and emergency contraception. The participants were Grade 11 learners between the ages of 15-24 years from five different schools in the Buffalo City Municipality. A sample of 514 was achieved. Data were analysed using descriptive cross-tabulation, chi-square and qualitative methods where appropriate. The results revealed that most of the participants did not have sufficient accurate knowledge concerning the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act, consequences of legal abortion and emergency contraceptive pills to make informed decisions. Furthermore, data also revealed that the participants' schools playa role in their sexual activity, their knowledge about the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act and about emergency contraceptive pills. Although this method made it feasible for the researcher to make general assumptions, non-responses were one of the limitations of the study. Similar research in various municipalities/cities in and outside the Eastern Cape is recommended so as to increase further awareness concerning the level of knowledge that adolescents have about contraceptive pills particularly emergency contraceptive pills, the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy Act and abortion in general.