Viewing Teenage Pregnancy as a Silent Pandemic: Teachers’ Perspectives of Teenage Pregnancy in Chitungwiza District in Zimbabwe

Abstract

The aim of the study was to a silent pandemic: Schools perspective of teenage pregnancy in Chitungwiza District in Zimbabwe. A clear understanding of the problem of teenage pregnancy to understand the proliferation of the teenage pregnancy in Chitungwiza District that stands at 27 percent. The theory used to explore the practice is the Social Analysis theory. The premise of the theory looks closely at social cultural factors and how they influence the prevalence of teenage pregnancy, thus, the prevalence is embedded in the social structures in the families and communities. This conceptualization of culture provides a lens through which to understand reproductive health decision-making.  Subsequently, gender norms (i.e., shared beliefs about the behaviors and related roles and responsibilities deemed appropriate for boys/men compared with girls/women) as essential to understanding gender dynamics and Sexual Reproductive Health (SRH) outcomes. The study used mixed research refers to a research approach that involves the blending of qualitative and quantitative approaches as well as other paradigm tenets. Of critical importance to this study is that the case study method is particularly suitable for answering questions that start with how, who and why with regard to prevalence of teenage pregnancy in communities. The study reveals that teenage pregnancy is embedded in the social interactions and how communities deal with issues such as poverty, cultural practices and peer pressure. Consequently, teenagers who get pregnant are forced out of school, exposed to Sexual Transmitted Infections and are susceptible to death during delivery and other birth delivery complications. The panaceas identified in the study to end teenage prevalence of teenage pregnancy include the provision of sexual and reproductive educational opportunities for girls as well as advocacy and alternative livelihoods for caregivers to provide for their girls.

Key terms: teenage pregnancy, adolescents, health, advocacy, peer pressure

DOI: 10.7176/JCSD/73-04

Publication date: April 30^th 2024