'Teenage-mothers' breastfeed in class

A number of teenage primary school pupils in the South Tongu District of the Volta Region, are mothers suckling their babies, a study has revealed.

It has indeed been established that 18 of such 'mothers', all of them below 16 years, either have to go home to breastfeed their babies, in between classes, or in the alternative, have them (the babies) brought into the school breastfeeding.

According to the study, all the nursing mothers attend the same school.

Mama Adokua Azawogbe Dumenya of the Guidance and Counselling Unit of the District Directorate of Education, who disclosed this, said nine other primary school girls, one of them in primary two, were pregnant.

She was speaking at the inauguration of paralegals trained by the Federation of International Women Lawyers (FIDA) to help solve social problems in the district.

The United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) supported the programme.

Mama Dumenya, who is the Paramount Queen of the Volo traditional area, said "hospital records showed that in 2008, 304 basic school girls, four of whom were aged between eight and 10, attended ante-natal clinics in the district".

She said in most cases, the paternity of the babies could not be established because those mentioned as the fathers denied responsibility for them.

Mama Dumenya urged parents and communities to exercise effective supervision and care over their young girls to prevent them from becoming wayward and child mothers.

Topics treated during the training included sex and gender, reproductive health, women and child rights, domestic violence, mediation, advocacy, counselling techniques, legal ethics and terminologies.