One in three adolescent girls in the country begin childbearing before turning 19 years, a recent study by Centre for Social Research (CSR) and the African Population and Health Research Center ( APHRC) has shown.
The findings of the research on ‘Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents’ were disseminated on Thursday at a workshop in Lilongwe.
The research was done in both Blantyre rural and urban between April and May this year involving 669 young mothers and has shown that pregnant and parenting adolescents living in Blantyre face significant educational, social and economic challenges that if left unaddressed could have lifelong negative impacts on their wellbeing and that of their children.
Speaking at the workshop, Dean of Social Science at University of Malawi, Happy Kayuni, observed that teen pregnancies is alarming in the country at 44 births per 1,000 girls needs serious attention.
One of the young mothers, 19-year-old Fanny Phiri from Machinjiri in Blantyre, who has a 10-month old daughter shared her experiences during the meeting.
She said she dropped out of school in Form 4 last year and that life is now so difficult especially having only her mother as a single parent.
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