Young Motherhood: An explanation of the Rise of Teenage Pregnancies in Mutare Rural, Zimbabwe

This thesis specifically looks at the factors that have caused the rise in teenage pregnancies in Mutare rural. It also analyses the sexual experiences of the young mothers in a bid to explain the trends in unplanned pregnancy. Mutare rural district was chosen as the study site because it is one of the districts with high teenage pregnancy rates in Zimbabwe. The study employed a mixed methods research approach. On the one hand quantitative data was collected through document analysis of Sakubva district hospital’s admission registries of April 2014 to April 2015 to show the trends of teenage pregnancies in Mutare rural. From these records, this study found that there were seasonal trends in teenage pregnancies in Mutare rural, with the highest peak noticed during festive periods. Whilst on the other hand, qualitative data in the form of in-depth interviews were carried out with young mothers who have given birth between the ages of 15 to 19 years. Narratives from the interviews attributed the rise of teenage pregnancies to the advent of diamond mining which transformed the economic and social context of the Marange Community. The seasonal dimensions of teenage pregnancies were a result of the sexual relationships which were forged between the young women and the miners especially during Christmas and New Year. However, not all teenage women fell pregnant to the miners, others had relations with older men from the village and others from boys their age. This signals cases of intergenerational relationships, peer pressure and early marriage which are added factors to the rise of teenage pregnancy in the area. The study found that for those teenage women involved with the miners, the relationships were not only for financial gain but were also for love, marriage and sexual gratification. These reasons were found to weaken teenage women’s negotiation and bargaining power for safe sex. Key informant interviews were carried out with representatives from 4 organisations, that is, Ministry of Health and Child welfare, Ministry of Labour and Social Welfare, Plan International Zimbabwe and Youth Alive Zimbabwe. The key informants provided additional knowledge since they have been working to address teenage pregnancies in Mutare rural. Insight into the organisation’s programs also provided the contextual background of this thesis. The study used the concepts of gender and sexuality to analyse how the discovery of diamonds in Marange contributed to the rise of teenage pregnancy in the community. The central argument of the paper is that, whilst stakeholders have implemented programmes using the ‘abstinence only’ approach, the strategy is not only ineffective in addressing the needs of teenage women, but it also bypasses the political economy of Marange and the different experiences of young women as they negotiate with their sexuality. The results of which has been the continued rise in teenage pregnancy in Mutare rural.