Pregnancy and Parenting Experiences of Care-Experienced Youth in Ghana and Uganda

Although sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest rates of early pregnancy, there is little awareness of pregnancy and parenting among young people in out-of-home care in this region. Therefore, this study looked into the experiences of pregnancy and parenting among young women who had been in res...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Child & adolescent social work journal 2022, Vol.39 (6), p.683-692
Main Authors: Frimpong-Manso, Kwabena, Bukuluki, Paul, Addy, Tabitha Naa Akuyea, Obeng, James Kutu, Kato, Francis
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
adolescent
Adolescent mothers
adult
Behavioral Science and Psychology
Care leavers
Caregivers
challenges
Child Rearing
Clinical Psychology
Coping
Employment
foster-care
Ghana
Health education
Health information
Home health care
Housing
Interviews
leavers
Leaving care
motherhood
Mothers
Motivation
Occupational stress
Parenting skills
Parents
Parents & parenting
Personality and Social Psychology
Pregnancy
Psychology
Reproductive health
Residential care
Residential institutions
risk
Semi Structured Interviews
Sex education
Sexual behavior
Social integration
Social programs
Social Work
Socialt arbete
Sociology
Spirituality
Stigma
Supervision
Uganda
Working mothers
Young adults
Young mothers
Young women
Youth
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Summary:Although sub-Saharan Africa has the world’s highest rates of early pregnancy, there is little awareness of pregnancy and parenting among young people in out-of-home care in this region. Therefore, this study looked into the experiences of pregnancy and parenting among young women who had been in residential care in Ghana and Uganda. We gathered data from ten parenting care leavers in both countries using semi-structured interviews and then analyzed the data from the interviews thematically. The study’s findings revealed that the young mothers had minimal sexual and reproductive health education, as well as a lack of sufficient monitoring, which predisposed them to early pregnancy. The young mothers indicated that emotional stress, financial and employment obstacles, as well as stigma, were some challenges they had experienced. They used personal motivation and spirituality as coping mechanisms to deal with their challenges. Training caregivers to deliver sexual and reproductive health information, having practitioners who will offer supervision during the semi-independent phase of leaving care, and providing separate housing for young mothers are some implications for practice emerging from the study. Policy implications include the need for social inclusion programs to support the academic, vocational, and parenting skills of young mothers who leave care.
ISSN:0738-0151
1573-2797
DOI:10.1007/s10560-022-00829-5