Rukundo Godfrey Zari, Abaasa Catherine, Natukunda Peace Byamukama, Allain Dominic
Department of Psychiatry, Mbarara University of Science and Technology (MUST), Mbarara Uganda.
Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Mbarara University of Science and Technology, Mbarara Uganda.
Midwifery. 2019 May;72:74-79. doi: 10.1016/j.midw.2019.02.011. Epub 2019 Feb 22.
Uganda has one of the highest teenage pregnancy rates in Sub-Saharan Africa and the world. About a quarter of teenagers become pregnant annually. This is much higher than the global rate of 11%. When a teenager becomes pregnant, caring responsibilities are usually shared between the teenage mother and the baby's grandmother. Previous research has largely focused on the experiences of teenagers, leaving out the parents and caregivers. This paper describes parents and caretakers' perceptions and concerns about accessibility of antenatal services by pregnant teenagers in three divisions of Mbarara Municipality in southwestern Uganda.
This was a qualitative cross-sectional descriptive study. Thirty in-depth interviews with parents and caregivers were conducted. The study was conducted in the Nyamitanga, Kakoba and Kamukuzi divisions in Mbarara Municipality, southwestern Uganda. Data analysis was done manually by identifying emergent themes which were then coded and organized into concepts which were later developed into explanations.
According to parents and other caregivers, teenage pregnancy is considered a significant challenge both for themselves and for the teenagers. Often, pregnant teenagers lack information on the available antenatal care services. They struggle with stigma and also lack social and financial support from parents. In addition, the teenagers lack support from reproductive health workers. The parents and caregivers also struggle with the stigma of their children's pregnancy and are often unaware of any available teenager friendly ANC services.
Parents and caregivers find it difficult to cope with their children's pregnancy. They are not aware of any existing teenager-friendly antenatal services, yet antenatal services specifically targeting teenagers are necessary. In planning programs for antenatal services, parents and caregivers also need to be equipped with knowledge and skills required for them to guide and support the pregnant teenagers.
乌干达是撒哈拉以南非洲乃至全球青少年怀孕率最高的国家之一。每年约有四分之一的青少年怀孕。这一比例远高于11%的全球平均水平。青少年怀孕后，照顾责任通常由少女母亲和婴儿的祖母共同承担。以往的研究主要集中在青少年的经历上，而忽略了父母和照顾者。本文描述了乌干达西南部姆巴拉拉市三个区的父母和照顾者对怀孕青少年获得产前服务的看法和担忧。
这是一项定性横断面描述性研究。对父母和照顾者进行了30次深入访谈。研究在乌干达西南部姆巴拉拉市的尼亚米坦加、卡科巴和卡穆库齐区进行。通过识别新出现的主题进行手动数据分析，然后将这些主题编码并组织成概念，随后发展为解释。
据父母和其他照顾者称，青少年怀孕对他们自己和青少年来说都是一项重大挑战。通常，怀孕的青少年缺乏关于现有产前护理服务的信息。他们面临耻辱感，也缺乏来自父母的社会和经济支持。此外，青少年缺乏生殖健康工作者的支持。父母和照顾者也因子女怀孕而面临耻辱感，并且往往不知道有任何适合青少年的产前保健服务。
父母和照顾者发现难以应对子女的怀孕问题。他们不知道任何现有的适合青少年的产前服务，但专门针对青少年的产前服务是必要的。在规划产前服务项目时，还需要让父母和照顾者具备指导和支持怀孕青少年所需的知识和技能。
