Peer-reviewed article
Exploring the lived socioeconomic experiences of teen mothers in Rwanda.
Mizero D, Shimwa A, Dusingize MI, Uwimana A, Yohannes T et al. ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study interviewed 23 Rwandan women who became pregnant as teenagers to understand their experiences and needs. The research found that poverty drives teenage pregnancy, and pregnant girls face discrimination from families and communities that damages their self-worth. After becoming mothers, these young women struggle with financial hardship, lose access to education and health services, and receive little support from the men responsible or from poorly coordinated government and NGO programs.
Key points
- Poverty is a main contributor to early sexual relationships among teenage girls, with some girls coerced or deceived into relationships
- Teenage pregnancy causes significant discrimination and stigma from families, friends and communities, leading to self-doubt and self-depreciation
- Men who fathered children took no responsibility and provided no financial or other support
- Teen mothers faced severe financial difficulties and became dependent on others; some were denied health insurance because their families rejected them
- Most teen mothers dropped out of school, limiting future employment opportunities; most did not regret motherhood but regretted losing their education and dreams
Limitations
This study describes lived experiences through qualitative interviews but cannot measure the scale of different challenges across Rwanda or compare outcomes between supported and unsupported teen mothers. The findings reflect the perspectives of 23 women and may not capture all regional or contextual variation in teen mothers' experiences.
Abstract
Teenage pregnancy is one of the major public health problems worldwide, with the issue more severe in low-and middle-income countries. While poverty is a main risk factor, the negative consequences of teenage pregnancy further perpetuate the cycle of poverty. To support teen mothers, many support programs were created; however, the benefits which reached them were limited. Since social norms vary from community to community, the types of challenges teen mothers face influence the type of support they need. This study explored the firsthand socio-economic experiences of women who underwent teenage pregnancy in Rwanda to inform the revision and monitoring of programs supporting teenage mothers addressing their specific needs.In-depth interviews were conducted on 23 women who had delivered their first child when they were at the age between 14 years and 19 years. Five major themes related to their socio-economic experiences included: (1) Poverty is a main contributor to their early sexual relationships. Some were tricked based on false promises, some were coerced; (2) Teenage pregnancy had caused them to face various types of discrimination and stigma, leading to self-doubt and self-depreciation; (3) The men responsible for impregnating them neither took responsibilities nor provided any support; (4) They faced financial difficulties and inevitably became strongly dependent on others; (5) Most teen mothers have no complaints about becoming mothers but showed regrets about giving up on their education or their dreams.Financially disadvantaged teenage girls were vulnerable to teenage pregnancy. The financial demand on teen mothers raising their children was tremendous. With the community health insurance system being based on family civil registration, some teen mothers faced challenges in acquiring the health insurance due to being alienated by their families. Dropping out of school due to their pregnancy was common, limiting their future employment opportunities.Stigmatisation by their families, friends and communities were remarkable. The support granted by the government or non-government organisations (NGOs) through the local authorities was not well coordinated to ensure that it reaches the beneficiaries. Financial, health care and school support, with stronger delivery mechanisms are needed.