Nearly 3,000 girls under 14 were pregnant in SA in the last year

John Maytham speaks with Dr Shaheda Omar, Teddy Bear Clinic Director.

Listen to the interview in the audio below.

More than 2,700 girls between the ages of 10 and 14 gave birth during the 2023/24 financial year.

In the same period, 1,226 girls in that age group terminated pregnancies in public facilities.

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Almost 120,000 girls between the age of 15 and 19 gave birth at public facilities in the same period, and at least 19,246 terminated pregnancies.

Omar says they are investigating how many of these pregnancies are caused by rape, coercion, and lack of education, but they do not have the numbers for this.

“A lot more research needs to be conducted in this area.”

- Dr Shaheda Omar, Teddy Bear Clinic Director

“These are children birthing children.”

- Dr Shaheda Omar, Teddy Bear Clinic Director

Omar says these young girls are being robbed of their childhood, often by adult men.

In one case, she says a 13-year-old was raped and impregnated by an adult and had to take this baby with to criminal cases because she was now responsible.

She adds that the statistics we are seeing could be much higher because families often keep these cases hidden and deal with it behind closed doors.

Not all these pregnancies are caused by rape and coercion, in some cases these young teenagers are having consensual sex without understanding contraception.

Omar says we cannot let sex, pregnancy, and contraception be a taboo topic and parents need to have these conversations with their children.

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the interview.