Title : Factors influencing termination of pregnancy among young women in Mafikeng North West province South Africa
Abstract:
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to explore and describe factors influencing termination of pregnancy (TOP) among young women and to recommend guidelines that could be implemented to support them as well as reduce repeated termination of pregnancies. Research design and methods: A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and contextual research design was followed in order to explore and describe factors influencing termination of pregnancy among young women in Mafikeng North West Province. A non-probability purposive sampling technique was utilized to purposively identify and select participants who met the inclusion criteria for the study. The sample size was determined by data saturation. Research approval was granted by the Campus Human Research Ethics Committee as well as the Research Ethics Committee of the North West University. Permission to conduct this research was also obtained from the North West Provincial Department of Health, operational managers of the Health Centers, and the hospital Manager of the Provincial Hospital where data was collected. Consents to participate were obtained from each woman who requested TOP. In-depth individual interviews were utilized to collect data. Data saturation was reached after fifteen participants and twenty five in-depth individual interviews with women requesting TOP were conducted. Findings: The findings of this study indicated that factors influencing termination of pregnancy were economic factors, educational (the need for self-development), health factors as well as social factors. Conclusions: Conclusions reached were that these women opted for TOP because they did not have means to bring up a child, educational factors in which case they needed to further their studies, due to physical ill-health and social factors that included among others rejection by parents, stigma and being abandoned by partners. Recommendations were made for nursing practice, nursing education, as well as nursing research.
Take Away Notes:
• There is a need for young women to be supported through unwanted pregnancy
• Young women need to be taught about responsible choices of childbirth as well as reproductive health
• Young women often initiate sexual life without understanding the outcome
• The audience will use the information to influence related policy in their countries
• Other researchers could conduct comparative studies to find out what the situation is in their countries
• A comparison between developed and developing countries could be interesting research to do
• Nursing practitioners could use the information to improve their preventive measures on young women’s sexuality
• Faculty could revise their curricula to include preparation for responsible motherhood in the reproductive health aspect
