Life-Changing Coping Mechanisms and Resilience Strategies of Post-Natal Unmarried Teenage Mothers in the Central Region, Ghana

Abstract

Aim: The paper aimed at exploring the life-changing coping and interventional strategies adopted by unmarried teenage mothers in Enyan Denkyira in the Central Region of Ghana. Methods: The paper adopted the phenomenological design and through Snowballing and Purposive techniques, sampled 15 unmarried teenage mothers, 10 church leaders, and 2 District Assembly officials who accounted for their daily coping mechanisms and interventional strategies existing for teenage mothers in the Enyan Denkyira District. Results: The study revealed that teenage mothers in Enyan Denkyira continued to engage in labor-intensive occupations such as fetching water for construction works and washing other people's clothes to make ends meet. It was evident that when the support they got from sympathizers did not come and their other sources of income also failed, they were pushed into relying on men which made them become perpetual victims of unprepared pregnancy and premature motherhood. Conclusion: It was therefore recommended that the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) money should be expanded to benefit more teenage mothers. Also, religious bodies, institutions, and the family must be encouraged and supported by the government to continue to play their roles as sources of social protection for teenage mothers instead of neglecting them.