Abstract
Communicating about teenage pregnancy is increasingly necessary to combat rising teenage pregnancy in South Africa, particularly in rural areas, where teenage pregnancy is reportedly growing rapidly among school-going pupils. Several communication interventions have been proposed many of which were informed by scholarly theoretical frameworks, global guidelines, national and regional strategies. These approaches neglect indigenous knowledge systems such as beliefs, cultural and communication practices and resources that may have contextualised the communication interventions and encouraged its uptake by the public. Using data collected from elderly women in Lesotho, and literature on some of the areas in Limpopo, this chapter explores these indigenous knowledge systems and the roles of different actors in combating teenage pregnancy. The chapter also comments on the potential effectiveness of these measures in combatting teenage pregnancy and makes suggestions on what policymakers can draw on in develo** new interventions.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Airhihenbuwa, C. O. (1995). Health and culture: Beyond the Western paradigm. Sage.
Adeniyi, O. V., Ajayi, A. I., Moyaki, M. G., Ter Goon. D., Owolabi. E. O., Eboh. A., & Lambert. J. (2018). High rate of unplanned pregnancy in the context of integrated family planning and HIV care services in South Africa. BMC Health Services Research, 18, 140.
Aziato, L., Majee, W., Jooste, K., & Teti, M. (2017). Community leaders’ perspectives on facilitators and inhibitors of health promotion among the youth in rural South Africa. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 7(1), 119–125.
Cooper, D., Harries, J., Moodley, J., Constant, D., Hodes, R., Mathews, C., Morroni, C., & Hoffman, M. (2016). Coming of age? Women’s sexual and reproductive health after twentyone years of democracy in South Africa. Reproductive Health Matters, 24(48), 79–89.
Corcoran, J., Franklin, C., & Bennett, P. (2000). Ecological factors associated with adolescent pregnancy and parenting. Social Work Research, 24(1), 29–39.
Cross, R., Davis, S., & O’Neil, I. (2017). Health communication: Theoretical and critical perspectives. John Wiley & Sons.
De Palma, R., & Francis, D. (2014). Silence, nostalgia, violence, poverty…: What does ‘culture’ mean for South African sexuality educators? Culture, Health & Sexuality, 16(5), 547–561.
Dutta, M. J. (2015). Decolonizing communication for social change: A culture-centered approach. Communication Theory, 25(2), 123–143.
Fershtman, C., Gneezy, U., & Hoffman, M. (2011). Taboos and identity: Considering the unthinkable. American Economic Journal of Microeconomics, 3, 139–164.
Foucault, M. (1978). The History of Sexuality, vol. 1. An Introduction, trans. Robert Hurley. Pantheon.
Grover, N., & Sandhu, K., (2009). Teenage pregnancy: Too much too soon. Journal of South Asian Federation of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 1(3), 41–43.
Gunawardena, N., Fantaye, A. W., & Yaya, S. (2019). Predictors of pregnancy among young people in sub-Saharan Africa: A systematic review and narrative synthesis. BMJ Global Health, 4(3), e001499.
Gusdal, A. K., Obua, C., Andualem, T., Wahlstrom, R., Chalker, J., & Fochsen, G., on behalf of the INRUD-IAA project. (2011). Peer counselors’ role in supporting patients’ adherence to ART in Ethiopia and Uganda. AIDS Care, 23(6), 657–662.
Le Roux, K., Christodoulou, J., Stansert-Katzen, L., Dippenaar, E., Laurenzi, C., Le Roux, I. M., Tomlinson, M., & Rotheram-Borus, M. J. (2019). A longitudinal cohort study of rural adolescent vs adult South African mothers and their children from birth to 24 months. BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth, 19(1), 24.
Macleod, C. (2010). Adolescence, pregnancy and abortion. Taylor & Francis.
Macleod, C. (2014). Adolescent pregnancy: A feminist issue. In International Handbook of Adolescent Pregnancy (pp. 129–145). Springer.
Magadi, M. A. (2017). Multilevel determinants of teenage childbearing in sub-Saharan Africa in the context of HIV/AIDS. Health & Place, 46, 37–48.
Makiwane, M. (2010). The Child Support Grant and teenage childbearing in South Africa. Development Southern Africa, 27(2), 193–204. https://doi.org/10.1080/03768351003740498.
Maluleke, T. X., & Troskie, R. (2003). The views of women in the Limpopo Province of South Africa concerning girls’ puberty rites. Health SA Gesondheid, 8(3), 47–60.
Maluleke, T. X. (2007). The youths’ perceptions of sexuality in the Limpopo Province of South Africa. Health SA Gesondheid, 12(3), 3–16.
Manabe, N. L. (2010). The silenced voice of initiated Venda women (Doctoral dissertation).
Menendez, A. C., & Mutevedzi, T. (2015). Early childbearing, human capital attainment and mortality risk: Evidence from a longitudinal demographic surveillance area in rural KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Economic Development & Cultural Change, 63(2), 281–317.
Mkhwanazi, S. (2017). The socio-structural analysis of teenage pregnancy in South Africa (Doctoral dissertation).
Mkwananzi, S. (2017). Teenage pregnancy in South Africa: Setting a new research agenda. South African Review of Sociology, 48(1), 42–66.
Mothiba, T. M., & Maputle, M. S. (2012). Factors contributing to teenage pregnancy in the Capricorn district of the Limpopo Province. curationis, 35(1), 1–5.
Mturi, A. J. (2015). Why young unmarried women bear children? A case study of North West province, South Africa. Population Horizons Working Paper 9, 02.
Mudhovozi, P., Ramarumo, M., & Sodi, T. (2012). Adolescent sexuality and culture: South African mothers’ perspective. African Sociological Review, 16(2), 119–138.
Mvune, N., Bhana, D., & Mayeza, E. (2019). Umhlalaphansi and inkwari: Teenage men’s accounts on becoming fathers. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 21(2), 147–159.
Nkani, N., & Bhana, D. (2016). Sexual and reproductive well-being of teenage mothers in a South African township school. South African Journal of Education, 36(2).
Ramathuba, U. D., & Mashapa, V. A. (2019). Community perceptions of normative factors influencing adolescent sexual health in Mutale Municipality of Limpopo Province. Gender and Behaviour, 17(1), 12663–12673.
Salam, R. A., Das, J. K., Lassi, Z. S., & Bhutta, Z. A. (2016). Adolescent health interventions: Conclusions, evidence gaps, and research priorities. Journal of Adolescent Health, 59(4), S88-S92, ISSN 1054-139X.
Sennott, C., Mojola, A., & S. (2017). ‘Behaving well’: The transition to respectable womanhood in rural South Africa. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 19(7), 781–795.
Seroto, J. (2011). Indigenous education during the pre-colonial period in southern Africa. Indilinga African Journal of Indigenous Knowledge Systems, 10(1), 77–88.
Shefer, T., Bhana, D., & Morrell, R. (2013). Teenage pregnancy and parenting at school in contemporary South African contexts: Deconstructing school narratives and understanding policy implementation. Perspectives in Education, 31(1), 1–11.
Singh, S., & Hamid, A. (2016). Reflections of a group of South African teenage mothers: Sexual health implications. Health Education Journal, 75(3), 278–288.
Timæus, I. M., & Moultrie, T. A. (2015). Teenage childbearing and educational attainment in South Africa. Studies in Family Planning, 46(2), 143–160.
Waxman, A. M., Humphries, H., Frohlich, J., Dlamini, S., & Ntombela, F. (2016). Young women’s life experiences and perceptions of sexual and reproductive health in rural KwaZulu-Natal South Africa. Culture, Health & Sexuality, 18(10), 1122–1136.
White, P. (2015). The concept of diseases and health care in African traditional religion in Ghana. Theological Studies, 71(3), 1–7.
Willan, S. (2013). A review of teenage pregnancy in South Africa: Experiences of schooling, and knowledge and access to sexual and reproductive health services. Partners in Sexual Health, 1–63.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2021 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Sobane, K., Riba, I., Lunga, W. (2021). The value of the Fusion of Indigenous and Contemporary Knowledge in Develo** Communication as Interventions to Reduce Teenage Pregnancy in South Africa. In: Falade, B., Murire, M. (eds) Health Communication and Disease in Africa. Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2546-6_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-16-2546-6_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Singapore
Print ISBN: 978-981-16-2545-9
Online ISBN: 978-981-16-2546-6
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)