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  • Title: Parents' viewpoint on reproductive health and contraceptive practice among sexually active adolescents in the Port Harcourt local government area of Rivers State, Nigeria.
    Author: Briggs LA.
    Journal: J Adv Nurs; 1998 Feb; 27(2):261-6. PubMed ID: 9515634.
    Abstract:
    The viewpoint of parents on reproductive health, specifically their attitude towards contraceptive use among sexually active adolescent daughters and general opinion on adolescent pregnancy, was examined. A sample survey of parents of pregnant adolescents in Port Harcourt was conducted. A greater proportion (79.1%) of parents did not favour the use of contraceptives by sexually active adolescents because according to their parents, contraception kills. Also, most (87.8%) parents did not usually discuss sexual matters with their adolescent girls. However, the majority (93.2%) of parents would want a sex education programme in schools in order to prevent unwanted pregnancy. In many developing countries, it is up to parents to meet the reproductive health needs of their adolescent sons and daughters. Pregnancy is common among school girls in Nigeria, but most girls abort their fetus due to fear that a pregnancy carried to term will result in the termination of their education and the disgrace of having a child out-of-wedlock. Reproductive health experts believe that sexually active adolescents should be encouraged to use contraception to prevent unwanted/mistimed pregnancy. Abortion is illegal in Nigeria except on medical grounds, such as to save a woman's life. 148 parents aged 25-59 years of pregnant adolescents were interviewed to learn their attitudes toward contraceptive use among sexually active adolescent daughters and their general opinion on adolescent pregnancy. The sample of parents was drawn from Port Harcourt, an urban center of about 645,883 inhabitants. When parents found that their daughters were sexually active, 2.3% reported advising their children to use contraception and 79.3% advised staying away from men. Only 12.2% of mothers reported freely discussing sexual issues with their daughters. 79.1% of parents opposed the use of contraception by adolescents. 46.2% were opposed to adolescent contraception use because of the belief that contraceptives kill, while 18.8% believed contraceptive use would promote promiscuity, and 17.9% reported not knowing about contraception. 93.2% support the inclusion of sex education in school curricula. There was a range of opinions on adolescent pregnancy.
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