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Family planning dialogue: Identifying the key determinants of young women’s use and selection of contraception in Namibia
Authors: Nelago Indongo, Kammila Naidoo
Source: African Sociological Review, 12, 2, 2008, pp.98-116
Topic(s): Contraception
Family planning
Women's health
Youth
Country: Africa
  Namibia
Published: AUG 2008
Abstract: [NO ABSTRACT] Background Irrespective of the overriding socioeconomic and political milieu, young women in the age group 15-24 years are recurrently exposed to sexual and reproductive health risks and infections, as well as unintended pregnancy and childbirth (Mfono 1998; Al Azar 1999; Meekers & Klein 2002; Creel & Perry 2003; Prata et al., 2005). The acknowledgement that young women are ‘at risk’ of unplanned pregnancies, or are ‘vulnerable’ to infections, has invited much research into the social and demographic dynamics of this life phase and to the devising of programmes to address reproductive health agendas. UN reports (for example, World Youth Report 2003; UNFPA 2004) indicate a global decline in unwanted teenage pregnancies, but a high proportion, nonetheless, of premarital births still occurring among young women who are economically and emotionally ill-equipped for motherhood (Creel & Perry 2003). Facilitating young women’s abilities to take charge of their sexual and reproductive health would be central to reducing unwanted fertility and to improving their general situation in society.