Premarital Childbearing Among Adolescents in Lesotho

Datos Bibliográficos

ID4603497
AutoresAkim J Mturi, William Moerane Akim J Mturi (autor de correspondencia), William Moerane
Año2001
Volumen27
Número2
Páginas259-275
Fecha de publicación2001-06-01
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessNo
TipoARTICLE
RevistaJournal of Southern African Studies (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 0305-7070 • E-ISSN: 1465-3893
EditorialInforma UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1080/03057070120049967
OpenAlexW2168829458
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas11
Referencias citadas16

The issue of premarital childbearing has been a concern of many analysts in southern Africa. This paper looks at the situation of premarital childbearing in Lesotho in comparative context with the neighbouring countries. The total fertility rate (TFR) estimated from the 1996 population census of Lesotho for all women combined was 4.1 births, a decline from a TFR of 5.5 in the mid-1970s. Only a small proportion of births in Lesotho are born out-of-wedlock. The Lesotho Safe Motherhood Initiative Survey data of 1995 found that only 3 per cent of never married Basotho women aged 15–19 had given birth; a very much lower rate than in Botswana where the rate was 21 per cent. There are a number of factors that influence the relatively low incidence of premarital, adolescent childbearing in Lesotho. It is argued that one factor is that, despite significant social change, Sesotho culture is still generally opposed to such pregnancies. Local derogatory names are given to children born out-of-wedlock, and their mothers are still referred to as 'spoilt' or 'destroyed' in order to discourage such behaviour. The strength of such stigmatisation appears to be much less, or negligible, in neighbouring countries. There is a growing tendency to separate motherhood from marriage in many societies in the region and in some cases having a child can increase the chance of marriage. In Lesotho, the culture against premarital sex is changing as well, and a substantial number of adolescent females conceive before marriage. It appears that a significant proportion resort to illegal, unsafe abortions and the government needs to be aware of these changes in the behaviour of adolescents and their needs

Birth rate · Census · Demographic economics · Developing country · Economic growth · Economics · Family planning · Fertility · Geography · Political science · Population · Premarital sex · Research methodology · Socioeconomics · Sociology · Total fertility rate · Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health · Demographic Trends and Gender Preferences · Demography · Gender Studies · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare