Why babies are being dumped

Why are so many South African women falling pregnant with unwanted babies when contraception is freely available and abortion legal? Kwanda Njoli visited several clinics in and around Durban to try and answer the question

WHEN you go to a government medical facility you start early.

But when I got to the Ntuzuma clinic, I was not the first person there. There were already several long lines snaking its way to the front.

I did not know which queue to join. There were no signs to direct me. I thought about asking one of the nurses but they all looked busy. When I saw one of them shout at a sickly old man, I decided not to ask them.

I did what I guess was logical. I saw a young girl, visibly pregnant, and decided to join the line she was in.

As we shuffled forward, we chatted in the queue, first about my eye lashes, and later about her pregnancy.

Let’s call her Nono*.

She told me she had never considered contraceptives before falling pregnant.

Her reasoning was simple. She had to get them from the nurses. These nurses lived in the community and some of them were gossip mongers.

If she asked for contraceptives, there was a very strong possibility that everyone would know she was having sex and label her.

Nono, who is in Grade 11, became sexually active at the age of 15, about three years ago. Her boyfriend is 23, and unemployed. She also told me they regularly test for HIV.

Nono told me she would rather have five children than an abortion. According to her, children were a blessing irrespective of how they come.

We chatted until it was my turn to see the nurse. She was not quite the picture of friendliness. She did not reply when I greeted her and her question “what are you here for” was more of a scolding than a question.

The next question “where are you from” was the last. I do not live in Ntuzuma and as a result, I was told to go to a clinic closer to my home.

To her credit, she did tell me that I would need the pills on the first day of my next cycle.

However, there was a reason I had not gone to a clinic closer to home. It was the same reason Nono never asked for contraceptives.

Too often the nurses are people that are known in that community. They could be our neighbours or aunts. If nothing else, they could be the ones we go to church with. Community mothers who saw us grow up.

Sex is still a subject that is spoken about in hushed tones in most homes.

And someone who openly talks about it or is known to engage in it, can be labelled a slut.

To be sexually active can be seen as being shameful, so imagine the reaction when parents find out their 17-year-old daughter is on contraceptives.

They will not think that she is protecting herself from an unwanted pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases. Their only thought will be that she is having sex.

At every clinic I visited, I was given a top to down look. I was judged despite the fact that South African girls can legally access contraceptives from the age of 12.

Unicef (United Nations International Emergency Fund) believes access to contraceptives for adolescent girls should be “high on the African health agenda given the overwhelming burden of HIV and unplanned pregnancies on this group”.

But in reality, this message has been lost.

Young women are not met with compassion and patience when asking for contraceptives. They are judged.

So, the next time you read about a child being dumped in a drain or rubbish bin, don’t just blame the mother. There could be a line of people that contributed to her action.