Exploring young women's reproductive decision-making, agency and social norms in South African informal settlements.

ABSTRACT: This paper explores reproductive decision-making among young women in South Africa's informal settlements and considers whether and how agency and social norm theory inform their decisions. Understanding whether, when and how young women make decisions about conception and motherhood is critical for supporting women to avoid unplanned, early motherhood. Qualitative data were collected from 15 young women in informal settlements in eThekwini, South Africa at three time points over 18 months, using in-depth interviews, participant observation and photovoice, and were analysed inductively. When the young women were teenagers and into their early twenties, and had not yet had a child, most paid little attention to whether or not they conceived. This shifted as they grew older and/or after havi

SUBMITTER: Willan S 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7190118 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature