The struggle against teenage motherhood, the case of Homa Bay
A teenage mother with her baby.
What you need to know:
- A teenager says she still suffers from emotional breakdown due to the manner in which her mother treats her.
- the National Syndemic Disease Control Council CEO Ruth Masha reported that nearly half of deliveries in hospitals in Nyanza are of adolescents aged from 10 to 19.
In 2022, Mercy* learnt that she was pregnant after resuming school for Term Two studies.
The Form Two student had missed her periods for two months. But when she began to throw up, her mother demanded that she visit a nearby health centre in Homa Bay town for a pregnancy test.
The test results returned positive, confirming Mercy’s worst fears. She was barely 15 years old. The events that followed are things Mercy would do anything to erase from her mind.
Her siblings would join her mother in beating her up at the slightest opportunity for having conceived while still under her parent’s care.
Mercy's mother had also ordered that she drop out of school and move in with the man who had impregnated her.
“I was asked to pack and move in with my boyfriend who was also a Form Three student,” says Mercy.
Unbeknown to her family, even the boy's parents had rejected her.
Mercy, who was by then three months pregnant, decided to travel back to her parent's home where she attempted to rejoin school but was subjected to social stigma.
With rumours of her pregnancy having spread across the school like bush fire, no one wanted to associate with her. Teachers were using her as a bad example.
Meanwhile, her parents had also made it clear that they would only support her if she terminated the pregnancy. However, Mercy says she was reluctant to procure an abortion for fear of her life.
“The physical abuse from my parents and siblings worsened and so I had to leave home to seek alternative shelter,” says Mercy.
Luckily, she met one of her friends who agreed to accommodate her until she delivered.
Attempts by her new family to reconcile her with her parents failed to bear fruit as they maintained that the teenager had disappointed them.
Mercy was forced to quit school even though she hoped to continue with her education after childbirth.
Two months later, a scan at a health facility revealed that she was carrying twins, a revelation that left her worried and sad for she did not know how she would care for the babies.
After nine months, she delivered twin male children. Her mother only visited after the guardian alerted her of the development.
“She insisted that I must go home with her for some rituals to be performed on the babies,” says Mercy.
Back at home, however, life was not easy, with her humble family background, her parents could barely support the children.
The teen mother would on many occasions go to bed on an empty stomach while her breast milk production continued to deteriorate.
Her pleas for support from her parents fell on deaf ears. They told her that by conceiving she had demonstrated that she was an adult ready to become a parent and provider.
One year after delivery, the 16-year-old teen mother continued to stay at home unable to resume classes.
Her mother, who engaged in menial jobs to survive, made it clear that she could not afford a nanny to take care of Mercy's babies.
“We could also not afford to buy the babies' milk, so the only solution was for me to join my mother in her casual jobs and save some money to take care of the babies," says Mercy.
A similar situation befell Akinyi*, who has since dropped out of school to support her baby.
The 18-year-old secured a job as a househelp but her earnings are always channelled to her mother to purchase baby items.
Despite being several kilometres away from home, the teenager says she still suffers from emotional breakdown due to the manner in which her mother treats her.
“She made it clear I had to leave school to take care of my daughter. Meanwhile, she calls every day to scold me while reminding me that staying away from home should not be a reason for me to conceive a second time,” Akinyi says.
In a previous interview, the National Syndemic Disease Control Council chief executive officer Ruth Masha reported that nearly half of deliveries in hospitals in Nyanza are of adolescents aged between 10 and 19.
She said that the pregnancies are often a result of defilement by either close family members or influential perpetrators.
According to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2022, Homa Bay teen pregnancy is at 23.2 per cent.
Ndhiwa Director of Education David Ayieta says the region has the highest rate of early teenage pregnancy in Homa Bay.
The unplanned pregnancies, he says, hinders young girls from achieving their academic goals.
The education director says in 2023 alone, 60 girls in one of the schools in Ndhiwa fell pregnant by the end of August.
“Sadly, only 15 of those girls managed to return to school after giving birth, this is despite the fact that many were high performers in their final year," he said.
According to the Kenya Demographic Health Survey 2022 and the National Council on Population and Development 2023, 15 per cent of adolescent girls in Kenya are either pregnant or teen mothers.
Two out of five teen mothers struggle with unstable family backgrounds, social stigma, limited education and employment opportunities.
“When a girl becomes pregnant, the additional burden of childcare can be overwhelming, forcing some parents to keep their daughters out of school or even abandon them entirely,” said Mr Ayieta.
He said that a number of teen mothers in Ndhiwa have reportedly faced family rejection, which automatically pushed them out of school.
Some parents, he said, forced their teenage daughters to move in with the people responsible for their pregnancies.
Mr Ayieta acknowledges the seriousness of the issue and emphasises the importance of parental guidance in shaping a teen's values.
He said that in an effort to reduce the burden of teen pregnancies, they have launched workshops for parents and guardians to empower them on the importance of early sex education.
“Child upbringing solely relies on the parents or the guardians. From their parents, they learn the aspect of culture and good morals,” he added.
Last month, Kisumu County, in partnership with Safaricom Foundation, launched a community hospital to take care of teenage mothers’ children.
The move is aimed at curbing the growing number of school dropouts among adolescents.
“Stigma has in one way or another contributed to school dropouts, the hospital will, therefore, protect the young mothers from the harsh societal judgements,” said Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o.
Identities changed to protect the young mothers.
