Learner pregnancies: views of parents in Madibeng Municipality, North West Province, South Africa.

Background: The learner pregnancy phenomenon is one of a variety of social phenomena faced by schools globally. In South Africa, the phenomenon has been increasing in intensity over the years, as shown in the increasing number of learner pregnancies reported by the Department of Basic Education. Due to its social consequences, learner pregnancy involves different stakeholders, such as teachers, parents and the community. Aims: The study aimed to explore the views of parents regarding learner pregnancy in schools of Madibeng Municipality, North West Province, South Africa. Methods: A qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study was conducted using a purposive sampling method. Four focus group interviews were held with a total of 25 participants, and data were analysed using Tesch's approach to content analysis. Findings: Parents reflected that parents have a responsibility to communicate and share sexual and reproductive information with their children so that the children can make informed decisions about their sexual practices. They further agreed that the responsibility for learner pregnancy management should extend to teachers, parents, nurses, school governing bodies, churches, the community and the government. Conclusion: Stakeholders such as parents, teachers and the community, as internal or external partners, should play a pivotal role in preventing and managing learner pregnancy in schools.

Views of learners on prevention and management of pregnancies in schools of Madibeng municipality, North West province of South Africa.

Learner pregnancies have increased in recent years, despite improved access to reproductive health services, contraceptives and sexual and reproductive education. In this article, a pregnant learner refers to any person who gets pregnant while being admitted as a learner in primary or secondary schools of the South African basic education system. Currently in South Africa there is no formal collaboration between the Departments of Health and Education concerning learner pregnancy prevention and management in schools. This study, conducted in Madibeng Municipality schools, aimed to develop implementation guidelines of the policy on prevention and management of learner pregnancy in schools. This qualitative, exploratory and descriptive study used a purposive sampling method. Data collection yielded 17 individual interviews and data was analysed using content analysis by Tesch's approach. Learners reflected that they lacked support from schools regarding learner pregnancy prevention and management, with the majority agreeing that nurses should visit schools to assist with reproductive health matters such as learner pregnancy. The education system of South Africa has invested in sexual and reproductive education, but learner pregnancies have doubled despite more than a decade of extensive sexual and reproductive education in schools. Stakeholders outside the classroom should be engaged to improve learner pregnancy prevention and management as part of support to teachers and schools. Such stakeholders include parents, peer educators, youth and community organisations, non-governmental organisations, community healthcare nurses and other relevant stakeholders.

Men's reproductive health knowledge in Mankweng District, Limpopo Province.

BACKGROUND: Gender roles influence men's attitudes towards reproductive health, and society might assume that reproductive health issues, fertility and family planning are women's responsibilities. Moreover, literature shows that men have insufficient knowledge about reproductive health matters and some misconceptions about modern contraceptive practices. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to describe reproductive health knowledge of men in Mankweng District and was conducted in 2015. METHODS: A descriptive research study was conducted by using quantitative approach. Data were collected by means of questionnaires. Cluster random multistage sampling was used to select villages in Mankweng District and convenient sampling was used to identify participants who met the inclusion criteria to participate on the study. RESULTS: A total of 200 questionnaires were distributed and returned; 197 (98.5%) of the returned questionnaires were eligible for analysis. The findings indicated that the majority of participants, 74% (n = 145), considered their partners to be unclean during menstruation, and 84.77% (n = 167) of participants did not know how to perform self-testicular examination. More than half of the participants, 55.83% (n = 67), were not in favour of vasectomy and had strong opinions about it; some of those who reportedly knew what a vasectomy involves had some misconceptions. CONCLUSION: The findings showed that despite participants' reported knowledge about some reproductive health matters their perceptions were unfavourable towards them. Despite men's sufficient knowledge about sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and ways to protect themselves against STIs men had limited knowledge about other male and female reproductive health matters.