Department of Health Promotion, Maastricht University/CAPHRI, Minderbroedersberg 4-6, 6211 LK, Maastricht, The Netherlands.
Health & Wellbeing, Human and Social Capabilities Division, Human Sciences Research Council, 118 Buitengraght Street, Cape Town, 8000, South Africa.
Reprod Health. 2021 Aug 4;18(1):167. doi: 10.1186/s12978-021-01211-x.
Maternal mortality among adolescent mothers in South Africa is higher than many middle-income countries. This is largely attributable to conditions that can be prevented or managed by high quality antenatal care. The way in which pregnant adolescents are treated at antenatal clinics influences their timely utilization of antenatal services. This qualitative study reports on the experiences of pregnant adolescents with health care workers when accessing antenatal care.
Pregnant girls aged 13-19 (n = 19) who attended public health care facilities that provide Basic Antenatal Care (BANC) services in Cape Town, South Africa were recruited. Four face to face in-depth interviews and four mini focus group discussions were undertaken, facilitated by a topic guide. Thematic analyses were used to analyse the data.
Experiences that reinforce antenatal attendance, such as respectful and supportive treatment, were outweighed by negative experiences, such as victimization; discrimination against being pregnant at a young age; experiencing disregard and exclusion; inadequate provision of information about pregnancy, health and childbirth; clinic attendance discouragement; and mental health turmoil.
There is evidence of a discordant relationship between the health care workers and the pregnant adolescents. Adolescents feel mistreated and discriminated against by the health care workers, which in turn discourages their attendance at antenatal clinics. Maternal health care workers need to receive support and regular training on the provision of youth friendly antenatal care and be regularly evaluated, to promote the provision of fair and high quality antenatal services for adolescent girls.
南非青少年母亲的孕产妇死亡率高于许多中等收入国家。这在很大程度上归因于可以通过高质量的产前护理来预防或管理的情况。在产前诊所中，孕妇青少年受到的对待方式会影响她们及时利用产前服务的情况。这项定性研究报告了青少年孕妇在接受产前护理时与保健工作者的经历。
在南非开普敦，招募了年龄在 13-19 岁之间（n=19）并参加了提供基本产前保健（BANC）服务的公共医疗保健设施的怀孕女孩。采用主题指南，进行了 4 次面对面的深入访谈和 4 次小型焦点小组讨论。使用主题分析来分析数据。
增强产前就诊的经历，如尊重和支持性治疗，被负面经历所抵消，例如受害、因年轻怀孕而受到歧视、被忽视和排斥、关于怀孕、健康和分娩的信息提供不足、劝阻就诊和心理健康混乱。
有证据表明保健工作者与怀孕青少年之间存在不协调的关系。青少年感到受到保健工作者的虐待和歧视，这反过来又劝阻了他们前往产前诊所就诊。孕产妇保健工作者需要接受关于提供青年友好型产前护理的支持和定期培训，并定期进行评估，以促进为少女提供公平和高质量的产前服务。
