Experiences and coping strategies of school going breastfeeding adolescents from Katimamulilo and Sesheke secondary schools in Sesheke district, Western province of Zambia.
The estimated rate of teen motherhood in the sub-Saharan region is 40 per cent. In Zambia, 28% of girls and young women aged 15 to 19 years are mothers or have been pregnant before, constituting more than 275,000 teenagers. In 2014, it was estimated that there were 15,000 pregnancies among enrolled girls per year. The re-entry policy was introduced in Zambia in 1997 to give a chance to pregnant girls to continue their education. However, the re-entry policy is insufficient and may not protect adolescent school-going mothers from the challenges of mothering while schooling. The challenges may be due to little or no support from school and family. Financial constraints, discrimination, and stigma may also affect their adaptation and coping strategies, ultimately leading to stress. The study aimed to explore the experiences and coping strategies of School Going Breastfeeding Adolescents from Katima-Mulilo and Sesheke Secondary Schools of Western Province in Zambia. The study used descriptive phenomenology to explore the lived experiences of adolescent breastfeeding school girls and was conducted at Katima-Mulilo and Sesheke Secondary Schools. The study population comprised girls from Sesheke and Katima-Mulilo secondary schools who had re-entered after maternity leave. A purposive sampling technique without maximum variation was used in the study. A total of 16 participants (14 school girls who were breastfeeding and had re-entered school and two teachers) were included in the study. A semi-structured questionnaire guide was used to collect data relevant to the study’s objective. Data was collected using in-depth tape-recorded interviews. The first step in analysing the data collected was to transcribe it from audio to written text, after which it was coded using Microsoft Word mixed with Nvivo version 11. The coded data were then grouped into themes, then compared and grouped under each objective under study. Finally, a spider diagram was used to show how it was navigated from themes to sub-themes under each thematic area. The findings were that the main challenges the girls experienced were how to take care of the baby while at school, poor academic performance, missing classes, no support from school authorities, financial matters, and stigma and discrimination. The coping strategies used included time management, keeping busy and ignoring. Therefore, the recommendation focused on the Ministry of Education to develop a formal orientation package for re-entered girls and provide space for breastfeeding girls to interface with their babies. Further, school authorities and parents must work together with other government departments and Non-Governmental Organisations to offer financial counselling and support to the girls. The school authority and teachers should also prepare the environment, especially the peers, to receive the re-entered breastfeeding girls to avoid stigmatisation and discrimination. As for the school-going breastfeeding adolescents, they need to adopt a positive outlook on life during their time at school through engagement in keeping busy with lessons and studying. Further, they need to welcome, appreciate and fully utilize support given by the family, school and Non-Governmental Organisations to keep the stress at bay
Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations