Raising a family as a university student

She was no longer alone. There was the baby, and she had a full-time house help, without whom she would drop out of school. 

Her pregnancy came in the second semester of her first year at the University of Eastern Africa, Baraton, where she studies for a degree in Public Health.

“Being a second born in a family of four, my parents were shocked after they learnt I was pregnant and at some point they were disappointed,” Sharon, who comes from Nyamira county, told the Star.

“But mum played a key role in advising me not to abort my pregnancy. I gave birth in early September 2022.”

Although no longer a teenager, Sharon is one of the many Kenyan girls who fall pregnant in universities and colleges.

Often, the fathers are students themselves, and many run away from responsibility as soon as the baby is born. 

The growing population of student single-mothers in universities and colleges is largely unstudied, with most Kenyan studies focusing on adolescent pregnancies.

Sharon says parenting and studying at the same time can be exhausting.

She has constant difficulties in aligning her studies to the needs of her daughter. She has to make tough decisions about how to allocate her time and energy, while making sure she meets deadlines and sits exams.

“The father of my child, being a student, too, barely supports me financially, so my parents are the pillar of my survival at the moment,” she said.

Unlike Sharon, many young mothers often drop from college to raise their children, and they never return.

DELAYED CONTRACEPTIVE USE

Young women in Kenya experience a higher risk of mistimed and unwanted pregnancy compared to older women, according to the Kenya Demographic and Health Survey 2022.

However, contraceptive use among youth remains low. Known barriers to uptake include side effects, access to commodities and partner approval.

According to the Performance Monitoring and Accountability 2020 (PMA2020), most Kenyan women begin using contraceptives at 21.9 years, although they engage in sex at a younger age.

“The gap between first sex and first contraceptive use among rural women is six years and 3.5 years for urban women,” said Prof Peter Gichangi, the principal investigator for PMA2020 in Kenya.

I spend about Sh18,000 on upkeep, excluding rent and tuition fee, which has forced me to explore financial options, grants or part-time work opportunities

PMA2020 was a study supported by the Ministry of Health, Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, several NGOs and funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

In this study, researchers sampled 151 enumeration areas drawn by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics, and 5,876 females were interviewed in 2017.

“For adolescent women, the survey found that in general, rural women on average have sex earlier, marry earlier and use contraception later in life than urban counterparts,” Prof Gichangi said.

The study called for effective strategies to increase access to contraceptive services and information among girls aged 15 to 24 years.

It showed among beneficiaries of contraceptives in public health facilities, only 35 per cent are girls aged 15-24 years.

Public health facilities are required to offer such services to adolescents, but girls face stigma and are often denied the services on account of age.

When they finally give birth, the government and society are not there to help them. Sharon faces financial problems. The cost of upkeep, childcare and other basic costs is huge.

“I spend about Sh18,000 on upkeep, excluding rent and tuition fee, which has forced me to explore financial options, grants or part-time work opportunities,” Sharon said.

“I sometimes sell chapati here at the plots to make ends meet and to support my teaching and child's well-being.”

MULTITASKING HEADACHE

Another of Sharon's biggest challenges is managing her time. The needs of work, study and exams and parenting are not easy.

"Time management should be important, and I have to be realistic about prioritising to make sure I can meet my educational and parental commitments at the same time," she said.

It has become the norm to study late at night and early in the morning as she makes the most of every minute to continue her studies. 

“I managed to complete that semester (last year) successfully and proceeded for my long holiday, hence I didn’t defer my studies,” she said.

“At some point, I felt like a failure since the society mostly views us failures in life, but I have learnt to stand in for myself.”

She admitted that her child is the driving force behind her dedication to her studies. 

She had problems seeking a nanny, especially when attending classes or taking exams.

“I remember employing a house help late last year who ran away with my things, like gas cylinder, clothes and furniture. The trauma I went through is unforgettable to me. May God forgive her,” Sharon said.

Nowadays, she does not employ a house help, but when she has classes, she takes her daughter to a nearby daycare.

Psychologist Hendricks Ochieng' from Eldoret said student parents experience adverse physiological, psychological and socio-cultural effects of pregnancy and parenthood in university.

Maternal and paternal stress may lead to changes in sleep, appetite and energy levels. There is often anxiety and depression as one may feel inadequate to care for a baby due to academic, social and financial demands, he said.

"In some extreme cases, mothers and fathers may develop peripartum depression, which has all the aforementioned symptoms,” Ochieng said. 

"Coupled with withdrawal from family, friends and colleagues, difficulty bonding with the baby, feelings of hopelessness, shame and guilt, mood swings, restlessness, panic attacks, thoughts of self-harm and harming the baby, thoughts of death and suicide."

He said all these worsen when colleagues and staff display social and cultural stigma towards the student parents.

 “Academic performance can be affected negatively by impaired concentration and memory from depression, anxiety and stress,” he said.

If unchecked, this trend might destroy the fundamental character of Kenya and reap untold harm to our most vulnerable and precious members of society: our children

GENDER INEQUALITY

Ochieng agreed with a 2014 report by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, which found that women bear the biggest burden.

It showed that women make up 71 per cent of student parents globally. Single fathers make up 11 per cent of the understudy-parent populace.

In Kenya, the 2019 national census found that families headed by single parents rose from 25.1 per cent in 2009 to 38.2 per cent in 2019. 

in his Madaraka Day speech in 2022, then-President Uhuru Kenyatta raised the alarm. 

He said that if unchecked, this trend might destroy "the fundamental character of Kenya and reap untold harm to our most vulnerable and precious members of society: our children".

Uhuru said: "I urge our media houses, our religious leaders, our community elders, and the concerned government agencies to step up to the plate and make sure that the Kenyan family remains the strong and respected institution that it has historically been."

Psychologist Ochieng said all this single mother bashing adds to the pain of single mothers.

“Apart from the negative impact on academic performance, students mothers are often the most disadvantaged," he said.

"These students may be ostracised from social circles, pushed into poverty, fail to complete education and experience relationship difficulties with the fathers. All the above go into worsening gender inequality towards women."

Sharon is only lucky. Baraton, a religious university, has a kindergarten and a comprehensive curriculum on child care, which student mothers can take. 

"It's so empowering to know that my school is aware of the challenges student parents face and creates the necessary framework to help us succeed," Sharon said.

NEED FOR PARTNERSHIP

Ochieng advised tertiary institutions to identify student parents battling anxiety and depression. Such students can be supported through social support groups, counselling and sensitisation.

"There must be partnership between faculty and the student body. This should be done in the manner of running student unions and societies. Faculty members can act as patrons offering invaluable advice and expertise,” he said.

Nelly Munyasia, executive director of the Reproductive Health Network, a local non-profit, said most girls, especially adolescents, are not so lucky. 

They tend to drop out of school following pregnancy and often end up with inadequate education, skills and opportunities to secure jobs.

"Countries lose out on the annual income a young woman would have earned over her lifetime if she had avoided an early pregnancy. Kenya can reduce teen pregnancy by keeping girls in school through secondary school and higher," she said.

"Also by intensifying efforts to address the underlying economic and socio-cultural factors that lead to school dropout and allowing adolescents to access comprehensive sexuality education and friendly sexual and reproductive health information."

Munyasia said the 1994 International Conference on Population and Development's Programme of Action recommended that policies on population policies must be aimed at empowering individuals.

Women, especially, need to be empowered to make decisions about the size of their families, providing them with the information and resources to make such decisions and enabling them to exercise their reproductive rights.

Sharon remains flexible and committed to her dual role. With a careful programme to guide her, she has found a way to overcome these hurdles and continue with her education and journey as a mother.