Pregnancy is demanding at any age. But for adolescents, it comes on top of everything else they are dealing with: school, relationships, and the passage into adulthood. Add the hormonal shifts and shock of an unplanned pregnancy, and the weight of societal disapproval, and it is little wonder that pregnant adolescents are at heightened risk of mental disorders.
Existing studies have largely focused on quantifying the burden of mental health problems and their risk factors among pregnant and parenting adolescents. Less attention has been paid to understanding how pregnant and parenting adolescents themselves experience, interpret and navigate these mental health challenges in their everyday lives.
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Teenage girls in Africa face shocking rates of physical and sexual abuse in intimate relationships – new global report
We have spent a combined 40 years researching adolescent sexual and reproductive health across Africa, and what policymakers can do to alleviate their pressures. In our most recent paper we looked at the social consequences of adolescent pregnancy. In particular we examined experiences of stigma, rejection, social isolation and lost opportunities that affected adolescents’ mental health and how the girls coped with the pressures.
