The Lived Experiences of Teenage Mothers and the Role of Government Social Programmes During Covid-19 Pandemic: A Case Study of the Yilo Krobo Municipality

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy poses many challenges to adolescent mothers. And with the inception of the COVID-19 pandemic, poses a double threat to these adolescent mothers. The study sought to ascertain the experiences and challenges of teenage mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic and the roles government social programmes played in reducing their burden and also helping them in enjoying their fundamental right to education and health care as well as programmes designed to reduce their vulnerabilities. The study used a qualitative research design, specifically a phenomenological approach, to capture the participants' subjective experiences in their own words. A sample size of 20 participants was selected using a combination of purposive, convenience, and snowball sampling techniques. In-person interviews in English and Twi were used to collect the data, which was then analysed using thematic analysis. The study's findings shed light on the challenges faced by teenage mothers during the COVID-19 pandemic, which include disruption of education, overwhelming household responsibilities, financial insecurity, emotional distress, and limited access to adolescent reproductive health education and services. From the study, it is found that teenage mothers were not aware of the Livelihood Empowerment against Poverty and the Back-to-School programmes, however, the study revealed that participants were benefitting from the National Health Insurance Scheme but the scheme did not cover all expenses and they needed to pay for laboratory tests and prescribed medications. A few participants were also enrolled under the Free Senior High School programme, yet, beneficiaries paid for other expenses including books, feeding and transportation. These findings underscore the need for the Ministry of Education, and the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection to increase awareness of government social programmes for teenage mothers, and review their programmes to be more targeted, and effective to reach a large number of teenage mothers.