The experiences of single teenage mothers in raising their children at Mtubatuba Local Municipality
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Date
2023
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University of Zululand
Abstract
Teenage pregnancy despite being a well-documented subject remains a major worldwide health problem, affecting many countries. The risks and realities around this issue remains known, continue to be researched and documented however the rate in most regions continue growing. This study was conducted to explore the experiences of single teenage mothers in raising their children at Mtubatuba Local Municipality. It sought to explore their challenges, to establish the significance of the child support grant in helping them support their children, and to examine the support that they received from their families. The study adopted a qualitative research approach using an exploratory design. Data was collected by means of in-depth interviews from 11 participants aged between the ages of 16-22 and data saturation was reached. Purposive and snowball sampling was used and collected data was analysed through thematic analysis.
Findings of this study revealed several challenges that were endured by teenage mothers which were: financial burden of raising children, neglect from the fathers of the children, feeling of being trapped and unable to socialise due to motherhood, disturbance with schoolwork, with some even dropping out of school. The existence of the child support grant was seen to be very important in helping mothers to meet the costs of food and other necessities of their children and themselves. As significant as it was, it was seen to be insufficient as it did not meet all the basic needs of children. Findings of this study further revealed that teenage mothers were able to mitigate most challenges with the help of support received from their families which included financial support, physical care of the children and provision of guidance on how to take care of their children.
Considering these findings, it was recommended that the establishment of empowerment programmes along with support initiatives depending on each mother’s needs would be beneficial. This would enable them to be effective in their parental roles thus also allowing them to continue with their education and remain empowered.
Description
A dissertation submitted in fulfilment of the requirement for the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Social Work, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, at the University of Zululand, 2022.