Sexual initiation and childbearing among adolescent girls in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa.
A girl's first sexual intercourse is often unplanned and may put her at risk of STDs and HIV infection as well as unwanted pregnancy. The high prevalence of HIV among 15-24 year olds in KwaZulu Natal suggests that sex is initiated at an early age. This paper is based on a 1999 survey in South Africa which identified age of sexual debut and childbearing among adolescent girls in KwaZulu Natal. Of a sample of 796 girls, almost half had already had first sexual intercourse at a mean age of 16. Of these, 44 per cent reported having communicated with their first partner about preventing pregnancy, of whom 36 per cent were able to use a contraceptive method. The majority used a male condom, the pill or injectable. Similarly, 30 per cent had used a method, almost all of them a male condom, to prevent a sexually transmitted disease at first sex. About half of the girls had ever been pregnant and a large percentage of these indicated that the pregnancy had been unwanted. If sexuality education were to begin before puberty, at age 9-10 and in primary school, then many more girls would be in a better position to make informed choices about their sexual activities by the time they begin to engage in sex or reach menarche.
Manzini
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Population and Poverty Studies Programme, University of Natal, Durban, South Africa. Manzinini@nu.ac.za
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003267:Contraception; D003625:Data Collection; D005260:Female; D015658:HIV Infections / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012749:Sexually Transmitted Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D013019:South Africa / Q000453:epidemiology