Adolescent fertility in Tanzania : A case study of Dar es salaam region

This dissertation intended to investigate the factors underlying the adolescent fertility in Dar es salaam area. It was prompted by the increasing number of school girls who dropout due to pregnancies.414 respondents were interviewed of whom 320 were students in standard VI,VII, form 1 and 2 and 94 were adolescent mothers admitted in hospitals and attending clinics. The min variables examined were age, education, social economic status, marital status and contraception. The main findings are:- 1.Out of the total 414 respondents, over 73% of them experienced their onset of menarche by age 14-15 when they were in class 5-6. 2. About 53% of the 50 evermarried adolescent mothers who were interviewed got married before reaching age 16, the current legal age for marriage in Tanzania. 3. About 15% of the 320 adolescent school girls who were interviewed attend cinema shows and about 9% of them attend dances. 4. About 12% of the 320 adolescent school girls who were interviewed had business male friends and about 5% had working male friends. 5. over 70% of the total 414 adolescent students and students and adolescent mothers who were interviewed belonged to families with over 5 children. 6. A large proportional of my sample 94 adolescent mothers belonged to parents with low education attainment of not more than standard 7 and subsequent low income generating jobs. 51.1% had Fathers and 76.6% had mothers with educational not more than standard 7. 7.About 46.8% of the adolescent mothers belonged to broken family structure and therefore stayed without both parents or with only one parent and had therefore no or little parental control. 8.About 47.9% of the 320 adolescent students who were interviewed had no information about family life education including family planning. The majority of those who had information about family life education, rely on mothers and grandmothers as sources of information . On the other hand the majority of students who have some information about family planning rely on books, magazines and newspapers as sources of information. 9. About 65.4% of the adolescent mothers in our sample of 94 had some knowledge of contraceptives. Yet only 21.3% of them use contraceptives. 10. A large proportional of the adolescent mothers terminates schooling and remain unmarried. It is therefore recommended that: 1.Family life education be introduced in schools beginning with standard 5. 2. Counseling services be established in schools and clinics. 3. Compulsory primary education period be raised from 7 to years 4. Review of legal age at marriage be made to raise it to 18 for female and 20 for males. 5.The party and government reemphasize ethics among the youth and the adult, through initially mass campaigns and then sustained mobilization, WAZAZI and Adult Education programmes. 6. Parents be provided with further training in kills to enable them raise their incomes. 7. Regulations governing restriction on adolescents attending dances and entering bars be reinforced while emphasis on educational films be made to provide the students with alternative entertainment. It is also recommended that long term training programme be made for both primary school dropouts and leavers. Such training will equip them with productive skills and enable them ear their living and become self-reliant.