Enhancing Responsible Reproductive Health Choices in Teenagers

Purpose: The purpose of the pilot study was to create awareness amongst both boys and girls teenagers in what caring for a baby demands.

Methods: The pilot consisted out of three parts: one part where boys and girls were “caring” for a “baby”, involvement of teachers in mathematics and language literacy and “police” who oversaw the “caring” of the “babies.”

Boys and girls from two local High Schools were provided with a doll made from material, a Kangaroo wrap, a cellular phone and a journal. They were requested to "care" for the "baby" continuously for seven consecutive days. Nursing students sent text messages to the boys and girls at hoc times during this period of time. The messages was triggers for the school children to attend to the "baby." The school children had to make entries in the journal of what they have done in reaction on the text messages as well as during the rest of the time. The also had to write down how they felt about the caring process.

In the mathematics class the children had to calculate the expenses associated with taking care of a baby. To understand how teenagers think about babies and caring, they had to write a poem or essay on this topic. 

Selected school children acted as “police.” They duty was to report on “child abuse” or how children was handling their “babies.”

On the last day of the project a debat with the topic of  "Having a baby while still at school", took place.

Results: Boys and girls overall did find the caring of a "baby" difficult, interfering with their personal life and expressed the view that they do not think it is feasible to have a baby while at school. The mathematic calculations brought them to the conclusion that having a baby is costly.

The “police” reported that some “babies” were left unattended, tucked away in suitcases/bags, they were called bad names and some were beaten. 

Conclusion: The school children did experience "caring of a baby" cumbersome and a financial burden. In the debate the overall view was that it is not preferable to have a baby while still at school, hopefully leading to the children to make responsible choices about sexual behaviour.