Conflicts within families might be fueling teen pregnancies in Korogocho slums, a survey conducted in the informal settlement shows.
The study findings released by the African Population and Health Research Center on Tuesday show constant fighting between parents is leaving the teens with no choice but to seek refuge in their boyfriend's houses where they feel more secure.
The study, ‘Lived experiences of pregnant and parenting adolescents in Korogocho, Nairobi, Kenya’ sought to understand the driving factors behind early pregnancies in the area.
It also aimed to find out the experiences of young mothers in healthcare facilities, the impact of adolescent childbearing on health and socioeconomic well-being and how adolescent boys and girls navigate parenthood.
The report also shows absentee parents are another driving factor with some of the teens interviewed saying their parents were on night shifts hence leaving them with all the time to do whatever they pleased.
Overall, a total of 594 girls aged 10 to 19 years from across the nine villages in Korogocho took part in the survey.
“Girls reported that individual, family, peer, and structural factors predispose them to early and unintended pregnancy,” the report says.
The individual factors also mentioned as causes of teen pregnancies include curiosity about sex, poor knowledge about contraceptives and ignorance.
“At the family level, the breakdown of families, family conflict, limited support, and lack of parental supervision exposed girls to early and unintended pregnancy. Most girls interviewed were from broken families,” the report shows.
“They narrated how the conflict between their parents affected their childhood. The eventual breakdown of families means girls lacked a stable home environment to thrive,” it adds.
Ten parenting boys, 10 parents/guardians of adolescents, four teachers, three community leaders, four health care providers, three religious leaders, three policymakers at the county government and four representatives of civil society organizations and non-governmental organizations were also interviewed.
Structural factors like poverty, sexual violence, and Covid-related school closure pushed girls to engage in transactional sex and increased their vulnerability to early and unintended pregnancy.
The report shows that for girls living with single mothers in Korogocho, it was tough to survive since most mothers engaged in menial jobs to cater to their families’ needs.
As a result, attempts to help their parents or to meet their own personal needs would often make them respond to sexual advances from boys and men who would promise them money and material gifts in return for sex.
