Human capital consequences of teenage childbearing in South Africa

Women in South Africa have had fewer children on average since the 1970s, but the rate of teenage childbearing in South Africa has remained the same. Large numbers of young mothers are a cause for social concern in South Africa and other countries because of the adverse impact of teenage childbearing on the education and health of teen mothers and their children. This research brief highlights the findings from recent studies on teenage childbearing in South Africa, in which analysts examined the causal relationships between teen fertility, educational attainment, and health outcomes in urban and rural regions.