Psychosocial challenges of pregnant adolescents: A narrative Inquiry of Adolescents in the Ho Municipality, Volta Region, Ghana

Adolescent health studies in Ghana’s Volta Region have often focused on topics such as family planning, teenage pregnancy, and unsafe abortions. However, limited empirical evidence exists regarding the psychosocial challenges faced by pregnant adolescents. This study explores the psychological and social difficulties impacting pregnant adolescents in the Ho Municipality, to inform policies and psychosocial interventions to support this vulnerable group. Using a narrative and phenomenological approach, this facility-based qualitative study gathered insights from pregnant adolescents aged 10-19 through in-depth interviews at the Volta Regional and Ho Municipal Hospitals. Participants were selected through purposive sampling and provided accounts of their experiences, challenges, and the factors contributing to their pregnancies. Thematic analysis revealed significant psychological challenges such as hopelessness, anxiety, sadness, isolation, and sleep disturbances. These issues were often driven by family rejection, partner denial, stigmatization, and discrimination. Poverty emerged as the primary contributor to adolescent pregnancy, alongside factors such as single parenting, lack of contraceptive access, limited sexual education, peer pressure, cultural influences, and media portrayals of sexual behaviour. The study highlights a need for multifaceted strategies at both structural and individual levels to address adolescent pregnancy and its associated psychosocial challenges in the Ho Municipality. The study recommended implementing comprehensive sexual and reproductive health education in schools, communities, and families to better support adolescents in managing and preventing pregnancy.