Revisiting the dynamics of early childbearing in South African townships

In South Africa over the last two decades, births to girls under the age of 20 years of age have steadily declined. The reason for the decline has been attributed to progressive social and educational policies and more accommodating reactions from families. This paper uses ethnographic data collected in 2001–2002 and again in 2013 in order to compare young women's perceptions and experiences of early childbearing at the turn of the twenty-first century with those of young women a decade later. It makes two main contributions to the literature on early childbearing in South Africa. First, it provides insight into the changes that have occurred regarding how young women experience pregnancy and motherhood over the last decade. Second, it considers changes not only in relation to time but also in relation to the significant social and ideological changes.