‘If She’s Pregnant, then that Means that Her Dreams Fade Away’: Exploring Experiences of Adolescent Pregnancy and Motherhood in Rwanda

Ernestina Coast (), Marie Merci Mwali (), Roberte Isimbi (), Ernest Ngabonzima (), Paola Pereznieto (), Serafina Buzby (), Rebecca Dutton () and Sarah Baird ()
Additional contact information
Marie Merci Mwali: FATE Consulting
Roberte Isimbi: FATE Consulting
Ernest Ngabonzima: FATE Consulting
Paola Pereznieto: Overseas Development Institute
Serafina Buzby: Laterite Ltd.
Rebecca Dutton: George Washington University
Sarah Baird: George Washington University

The European Journal of Development Research, 2021, vol. 33, issue 5, No 7, 1274-1302

Abstract: Abstract Adolescent motherhood can alter the future opportunities available to girls and the challenges they face. This article considers how adolescents’ capabilities are influenced by pregnancy and motherhood, using a mixed-methods case study of Rwanda. Adolescent motherhood impacts girls’ lives across multiple capabilities including education, psychosocial well-being, voice and agency, and economic empowerment. Rarely were adolescent mothers in our sample supported to return to school, for instance. Their pregnancy and motherhood were stigmatised by their families, peers, wider community and service providers. The psychosocial consequences of adolescent motherhood are significant, linked to social isolation and multifaceted stressors, including poverty. Despite recent policy and service improvements, adolescent mothers continue to be left behind.

Keywords: Adolescents; Motherhood; Pregnancy; Rwanda; Capabilities; Sexual and reproductive health and rights (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

Downloads: (external link)
http://link.springer.com/10.1057/s41287-021-00438-5 Abstract (text/html)
Access to full text is restricted to subscribers.

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:pal:eurjdr:v:33:y:2021:i:5:d:10.1057_s41287-021-00438-5

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.springer.com/journal/41287/PS2

DOI: 10.1057/s41287-021-00438-5

Access Statistics for this article

The European Journal of Development Research is currently edited by Spencer Henson and Natalia Lorenzoni

More articles in The European Journal of Development Research from Palgrave Macmillan, European Association of Development Research and Training Institutes (EADI) Contact information at EDIRC.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().