Social stigma and fear of being isolated by the community are some of the factors which make pregnant teens in Korogocho attend Antenatal clinics late.
The latest research findings released on Tuesday show that most girls who get pregnant in their teenage prefer to stay indoors.
The study was conducted by the African Population and Health Research Center (APHRC), Miss Koch Kenya and the Directorate of Children's Services in Nairobi county.
Due to the fear of walking around with a ‘big belly’ they only feel comfortable coming out and walking at night when the hospitals are closed.
As a result, the survey found that only four in 10 pregnant teens from Korogocho of girls had attended four antenatal care visits.
The World Health Organisation recommends that a pregnant woman attend at least four ANC clinics.
However, the majority of girls (92 per cent) accessed antenatal care services with 42 per cent seeing a and one-third of them (33 per cent) seeing nurses.
“Most pregnant adolescents presented themselves to the facility during the second trimester with most presenting at four or five months and some at the point of delivery,” the report says.
Other factors they listed for the late presentation at facilities were lack of support from parents and guardians, lack of knowledge of antenatal care, lack of money and providers’ negative attitudes.
Those interviewed said that even though services at public hospitals are free, rude doctors were a turn off with others being reprimanded or even insulted.
“Just that shame: I feared going early because people would start talking. So, for me, I used to go while hiding myself,” a teen mom who was interviewed said.
The study, ‘Lived experiences of pregnant and parenting adolescents in Korogocho, Nairobi, Kenya’ sought to understand the driving factors behind early pregnancies in the area.
It also aimed to find out the experiences of young mothers in healthcare facilities, the impact of adolescent childbearing on health and socioeconomic well-being and how adolescent boys and girls navigate parenthood.
The report also shows absentee parents are another driving factor with some of the teens interviewed saying their parents were on night shifts hence leaving them with all the time to do whatever they pleased.
Overall, a total of 594 girls aged 10 to 19 years from across the nine villages in Korogocho took part in the survey.
The study recommends the establishment of low-cost daycare centres and safe houses in Korogocho and encourages parents to support their adolescent children with childcare.
