Factors contributing to pregnancies among student nurses at a nursing college in Mpumalanga Province, South Africa

Abstract

In South Africa, unplanned pregnancies, especially in black communities remain a challenge. This survey was conducted at a nursing college in South Africa to identify and describe factors that contributed to pregnancies among student nurses enrolled at this college. A quantitative descriptive survey was done by using self-administered questionnaires. Seventy-seven female students of the targeted nursing college enrolled for the year 2006, completed questionnaires but only 75 of the returned questionnaires were usable. Of the respondents, 90.7% (n=68) were sexually active and 61.3% (n=46) had already experienced pregnancies and parenting due to ignorance, contraception failure, non-utilisation of contraceptives and the desire to have children. The effective use of contraceptive methods could reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies among female student nurses enrolled at this college. Early sexual debuts and the contraceptives used were the main factors that contributed to pregnancies among students at the targeted nursing college.