Pregnancy talk

Pregnancy

Have you ever wondered how universities deal with pregnancies? I mean the question is what would be the correct way to address students? , especially those who have sex in  their first few weeks as first years at university and come back home with a degree in bearing children?... Lets look at how Universities deal with this and if there is any discrimination that takes place.

Lets look :

Wits- You can stay but leave before the baby comes: "WITS students who are pregnant are being requested to leave res by the time they are eight months along, according to several students."

Views Expressed by Wits about pregnancy:

•  Fathers of babies became angry when told about their girlfriends being pregnant, they became responsible fathers only when it is convenient for them... See more
• Prospective Wits student who is pregnant and determined to study at wits: "I know all that stuff, contraceptives, condoms and abstention. I became pregnant well aware of those things, but then I kept myself out of it until just on a silly night" Read further...
• Wits realizes that:  "When students DE-register  their degrees as a result of pregnancy. They will either say it is a wrong choice of study or for personal reasons, we will not know why they really cancelled."
• Wits advice on pregnancy:  Wits Med, Come see us and You are not alone.

University of Limpopo (2.6.1)-  We don't want pregnant students: "The University does not have facilities for pregnant students, and therefore the University cannot be held liable or responsible for any injuries or complications related to pregnancies of students in that condition."

Views expressed by University of Limpopo about pregnancy

• Devries, Free, Morison and Saewye (2009) conducted a survey to determine the factors that are associated with pregnancy and sexually transmitted infections 276 Tladi and Jali among aboriginal students in British Columbia. Their findings were that 34.8% of young women had never had sex, whilst 33.7% of young Aboriginal men had never had sex. Among the young women who had ever had sex, 10.6% reported having been pregnant and 4.2% had never been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. Read more on  Factors contributing to pregnancy amongst female students at the University of Limpopo, Turfloop campus, South Africa
• University of Limpopo: "Statistics South Africa’s 2012 report on the social profile of vulnerable groups in South Africa states that 65.1% of children live in low-income households with a per capita income of less than R650 per month. This level of economic stress and poverty explains why South Africa’s social grant support is one of the largest social assistance systems in the world. The child support grant, together with the old age grant, constitute about 75% of total grant spending (South Africa.info 2014)", Continue reading.
• There is a low percentage who use condoms:  Low regular condoms use (43,4%), having multiple sexual partners(30.9%) and non use contraceptives (50.5%). Other risk behaviours related to illicit sex were going to disco or parties (43.5%) and alcohol (28.5%)" See more.

Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University - We advise for there to be parental guidance: Any woman under the age of 18 years will be advised to inform her parents as stipulated
in the choice of termination of pregnancy act nr. 92 of 1996;In all instances the University and Student Housing Management cannot be held liable by the student or parents/guardian of any misfortune the student might experience during her pregnancy.  The Student must be made to understand that the baby cannot be brought back to residence after delivery.

Thoughts on pregnancy 

Background characteristics of teenage Mother sample in Eastern Cape (pg 25)
Population group	9.2% other 90.8% black
Care givers present in lives?	50% have parents present 8.2% of students are alone 31,6% have other relatives 10,2% have a partner present
Did you want the pregnancy?	87,4% did not want the pregnancy 12,6% wanted the pregnancy
Are you married?	86,1% of teenage mothers are not married 13,9% were married

• We recommend that you know your HIV status
• Contact our Campus health.

 Isobels experience on being pregnant& University of Tswane thoughts

Isobel University 2nd year student at University of York:
I barely attended any lectures,” she says. “I did as much as I could at home and then had to really cram when it came to exams.”
University of Tswane:  “Some financially needy students become pregnant only to receive a social grant, not realising that caring for a baby costs much more than the actual grant.”

Do you think that students who are pregnant should be kept in residence? How do you think people in relationships should behave? Is it appropriate for fathers of babies to deny responsibility?  What can be done about mothers who did not want to have their children? How should these children feel?