FROM a distance, 14–year–old Lisiwe (not her real name) of Mbimba Village in Bulilima cuts the look of any other teenager yet to be touched by the vagaries of the world. Phillip Chidavaenzi
Any other girl of her age — probably in Form 1 or 2 — would only be pre–occupied with her schooling, with big dreams for a future as an empowered career woman in full control of her life.
But this is an age during which pubescent hormones are in full reign, with those that succumb to the rage ending up as teenage mothers with limited life choices and a bleak future beckoning.
Lisiwe is counted among these, as a closer look reveals that she is heavily pregnant, and the look in her eyes is one of regret. She told NewsDay her story at a mothers’ waiting shelter at Plumtree District Hospital.
The waiting shelter was constructed courtesy of resources availed through the Health Transition Fund (HTF), a multi–donor pooled fund whose overall purpose is to improve maternal, newborn and child health in Zimbabwe. The HTF, which is managed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
“When I got pregnant, I briefly went to stay with my boyfriend, but then I came back home because relations between our families were not good,” recalls the last born in a family of 10, whose father is died some time ago.
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After she got pregnant, there were inter–family conflicts as they demanded to know why they engaged in a sexual relationship. She ended her schooling at Grade 3 while her 15–year–old boyfriend only went up to Grade 7, but both had to prematurely end their education due to lack of money for fees.
She is, however, in touch with her boyfriend, but she has had no visits since she came to the shelter after she was referred to a better hospital.
“My baby’s father used to visit me when I was at the local clinic in Bulilima, but my mother is currently attending to my sick grandmother,” she says.
She had to be transferred to Plumtree amid fears that there may be complications due to her tender age.
She admits that while the pregnancy was a result of her first ever sexual encounter with her boyfriend, they have had repeated sexual contact since then, but adds that in future they would consider using family planning methods.
Lisiwe is not happy at the waiting shelter. Her food has just run out and she has been surviving on the good will of other expecting mothers at the shelter who are feeding her like a nestling.
“I did not want the pregnancy,” she says. “But my boyfriend said he was okay with it, but I never considered having an abortion.”
Prospects for the future are grim. Although Lisiwe dreams of getting her life back on track once she sees through her desire to secure employment in Bulawayo — which is located 98km away from her home — that is unlikely to happen against the unfolding economic shrinkage in the country.
Once an industrial hub, Zimbabwe’s second capital has collapsed over the past decade, bringing misery to many of the city’s families as many ordinary citizens have turned to vending, cross-border trading and prostitution to eke out a living. Since Lisiwe lacks the basic “O” Level qualification, her only saving grace would be to go back to the desk once she weans off her baby and hope for the best. Nqabile Ngwenya, the sister–in–charge at Plumtree Hospital, says there has been an increase in the number of teenagers admitted in their maternity ward. “We have teenagers here quite often. At least 50% of the cases we attend to involve teenage mothers,” she says. “They often experience complications, prolonged labour, difficulties in pushing out the baby and quite often post–partum haemorrhaging.” She, however, said they have found succour in HTF which has provided resources such as transportation, drugs and blood coupons that are given for free to expecting mothers. Anelia Ndlovu, the district nursing officer for Bulilima, concurs that admission of 15–year–old mothers in the district’s maternity wards was on a sharp rise. “There is widespread gold panning here so teenage girls are easily lured into having transactional sex,” she says. There are also cases of inter-generational sex relationships. It is often difficult to deal with these cases because families often end up making private marriage arrangements. At Gungwe Government Clinic in Ward 12 in Gwanda, 15–year-old Samantha (not real name), is playing with her baby. She conceived at 14 while she was doing Form 2 and had to drop out of school last year because of the pregnancy. While one may be compelled to feel sorry for Isabel, she has accepted the reality that she is now a teenage mother. “I became an adult after having the baby,” says Isabel, who was born in a family of two. She first went to the mothers waiting shelter at Manama Mission Hospital, constructed through World Vision’s Results–Based Fund (RBF), before she was transferred to the shelter at Gungwe. Samantha’s parents are still alive, and have accepted the new addition to the family. “When I found out I was pregnant, I didn’t want the pregnancy,” she recalls. “But my boyfriend [aged 20], wanted the baby.” Although they are still together, the boyfriend has not paid bride price because Isabel’s parents want her to go back to school next year. Although she got pregnant in August last year, her parents only found out about it in December, after which they made a police report. “My boyfriend was briefly detained before he was released,” she says, adding that although she regrets the pregnancy, her relationship with her boyfriend is still strong. The sister–in–charge at Gungwe Clinic, Zanele Ncube, says they have recorded several cases of teenage mothers and early this year, a 14 –year-old girl delivered a baby at the clinic, something that also happened three years ago. “Teenage pregnancies are high. Most of the teenage mothers are, however, HIV negative and the majority of them are school dropouts,” she says. “Pregnancy and delivery are really difficult experiences for them. We have converted one of our rooms into a Friendly Corner where we teach them and give them information about the dangers of teenage pregnancies and what they should do.” She says they have observed an intriguing pattern, which has enabled them to predict seasons of the year when there are high teenage pregnancies and deliveries. “Usually in December, the injivas [Zimbabweans working in South Africa] are here and three months after, we have a lot of bookings with an average of 12 -13 and sometimes between 17 and 18 teenagers expecting to deliver,” she says. Sikathele Nyathi, a health worker in Gungwe Village, uses her bicycle to service 250 households. She says she is disturbed by the increase in cases of teenage pregnancies. She says the fact that there are many school dropouts — most of them usually around 13 years of age — and most end up engaging in sexual activities. “Most of the affected girls are from single–parent households. There is lack of accommodation, sometimes with a family sharing one room,” she says. The nurse in charge at Ntalale Clinic, Ntalale Village in Gwanda South, Sizuzile Moyo told NewsDay that on average, they handled three teen pregnancies per month. “We usually refer them to the hospital for delivery if we anticipate complications,” she says. At Filabusi District Hospital in Insiza, midwife Persuade Msipa said the 20 mothers they attend to on average per month include those between 13 and 19 years of age. “In some cases we report to the police, but the challenge with some 15–year–olds is that lobola [bride price] would have been paid for them,” she says. “There are also challenges with teenagers because their pelvis is still growing, chances of complications are high and their labour is often prolonged and some of them deliver small babies.” Research has shown that the risk of maternal death is twice as high for girls aged 15 to 19 than for women in their 20s, and five times higher for girls aged 10 to 14 years. While the government and its partners like UNFPA, Unicef and the Japanese Embassy have funded the construction and resuscitation of mothers waiting shelters at hospitals and clinics in remote areas, provision of free blood coupons, ambulances etc, some women still do not access them. The overall maternal mortality rates for Zimbabwe, according to the National Census Report 2012, was 525 per 100 000 live births.
