Residents of Seshego township in Limpopo say communities need to improve their parental role to curb teenage pregnancy.

They are reeling from shock after a 13-year-old girl in the area gave birth on Christmas Day.

The teenager is amongst the 31 girls under the age of 18 who delivered babies in hospitals across the province on December 25.

The rise of teenage pregnancies sparked an outcry among residents with many expressing disappointments.

They say, “When we were growing up, we were raised by the community, the community is no longer raising our kids, we are raising them on our own. If a parent sees a kid on the street with a man or boyfriend if you try to reprimand the kid, it becomes a problem. The parent will ask you who gave you the permission to reprimand my kids, if we raise them as a community.

“I think we can minimise this thing. Teenage pregnancy I can just say is traumatic. I don’t know what we can do? Kids are having kids. They don’t use even contraceptives.”

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