Experiences of pregnancy and motherhood among teenage mothers in a suburb of Accra, Ghana: a qualitative study

Figures & data

Table 1 Characteristics of participants

Community	FDG	Participants	Educational level	Occupation
Danfa	1	9	Primary, JHS	School, unemployed
Madina	2	7, 6	Primary, JHS	Unemployed, apprenticeship
Dome	1	8	JHS	Unemployed, apprenticeship
Taifa	2	6, 6	JHS	Unemployed
Abokobi	1	6	JHS, vocational	Unemployed
Pantang	1	6	JHS, vocational	Unemployed

Abbreviations: JHS, junior high school; FDG, focus group discussion.

Table 2 Reasons for pregnancy

Transactional sex	Sex in exchange for monetary and other benefits due to financial needs that could not or would not be met by their families
Sexual violence and abuse	Forced sex including coercion from people they knew to be friends or acquaintances, outright rape
Adolescent sexual experimentation	Characteristic refusal of adolescents to be controlled, rebellion, and youthful curiosity about sexual intercourse leading to sexual experimentation
Lack of sex education	Naiveté and a general lack of knowledge about protected sexual intercourse and its implications
“I wanted to be a teenage mum!”	An assumption of readiness and belief that having children is a requirement for societal respect