ABOUT TANZANIA

In Tanzania, teenage pregnancy rates are growing. According to available data, the youngest age at which girls become sexually active in the country is 11 (Mpangile, Leshabari & Kihwele 1993). About 26% of women in the country start bearing children during their teen years, between the ages of 15 and 19 (Bureau of Statistics & Macro International 1997). There have been reported cases of first pregnancies at age 13 (Rugumyamheto et al. 1994; Tumbo-Masabo 1994; Mwageni 1998). Teenage pregnancy is more common among girls with no education (40%) and who reside in rural areas (27%), than among educated or urban residents (Bureau of Statistics & Macro International 1997).

Studies conducted in Tanzania reveal that the demographics of men responsible for adolescent pregnancies are heterogeneous. Men who impregnate young girls are between 16 to 52 years old and the majority are over 45 (Mpangile, Leshabari & Kihwele 1993). Partners of teenage mothers have different social backgrounds and occupations and include unemployed men, fellow students, mechanics, drivers, teachers, and managers (Mwageni 1998).

In Tanzania, teenage pregnancy is influenced by several factors. In the past, premarital sex was rare because on average people would marry younger, there were more parental control and severe social sanctions. These circumstances have changed. Presently communication between parents and children is poor, teenagers receive no sexual education. In a study of 40 teenage mothers in Dar es Salaam and Kigoma, Tumbo-Masabo (1994) noted that many of them learned about the relationship between menarche and conception after they had conceived. Additionally, their knowledge of the process of labor and childbirth was very limited. It is obvious that teenage pregnancies occur due to ignorance of the consequences of sexual behavior.

Children from teenage mothers usually grow up with few opportunities to receive an education, ending up poor and contributing to the social ills that plague developed countries. In developing countries, teenage mothers face the added social stigma of having a child.