Perceptions of adolescents in low resourced areas towards pregnancy and the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP).

Teenage pregnancy, unsafe abortion methods and the high incidence of HIV infections among young people are of great concern to the South African public. Due to the lack of accurate information and understanding, some adolescents are forced to succumb to early motherhood from unplanned pregnancies or opt for back-street abortion with at times fatal results. A qualitative exploratory study was conducted in 2003 to determine the adolescents' perceptions towards factors on the Choice on Termination of Pregnancy (CTOP) and the constraints in accessing TOP services. A purposive sampling technique that enabled experts such as health workers to identify suitable candidates for the investigation was employed. Twenty-four (24) adolescents residing in the predominantly rural area of Nkumpi-Lepelle in the Limpopo Province agreed to participate in the focus group interviews. The major findings indicated that most adolescents were uninformed about CTOP. This is attributed to the lack of coordination among health professionals and educators in the dissemination of information. The overwhelming majority of the respondents expressed discomfort at receiving termination of pregnancy services from the local public clinics and hospitals as they regarded such facilities as youth unfriendly. The adolescents also required provision of pre- and post-counselling services for adolescents who would like to terminate pregnancy. The following hypotheses were formulated for future in-depth studies: If adolescents continue to lack information about CTOP, they will not be able to utilize available services to terminate unplanned and unwanted pregnancies. If CTOP services remain inaccessible to the youth, the problem of backstreet abortion will not be eradicated.