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Progress in adolescent sexual and reproductive health (SRH) remains unequal: adolescent pregnancies are more likely to occur in marginalised communities, or in very poor households. This study aimed to comprehend from adolescents' own perspectives, the circumstances of falling pregnant and coping with motherhood in informal settlements in South Africa, to better understand the SRH challenges adolescents in these settings may face. A qualitative study was carried out over a two-month period in 2019 to analyse the perceptions held by adolescents in informal settlements served by four community-level clinics in the adjacent township. We found that adolescents face overlapping barriers in seeking to avoid unintended pregnancy in informal settlements. Once they become mothers, their trajectory is limited by the resources and support available from their own parents, particularly their mothers, and to a lesser extent, their partners. We draw on the concept of agency to examine their accounts and to highlight the importance of addressing broader contextual constraints. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores women's reactions to public health nutrition work in Guatemala, looking specifically at multi-micronutrients, or sprinkles. This anthropological research was carried out in two rural communities in Chiquimula, one of which was in the Maya Ch'orti' region, during the 2017 seasonal period of scarcity. Taking as a starting point the limitations of a medicalised approach to malnutrition, this article discusses how multi-micronutrients are illsuited as a solution for child malnutrition in situations of precarity. Though they are designed to be physiologically effective in reducing nutrition deficiencies in the body, they appear less useful once socio-economic conditions are considered. Women's experience with malnutrition emergencies will be explored to show how health decision-making must be understood in relation to their social context as well as to their expectations for the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To understand the extent to which adolescent awareness about anaemia and anaemia prevention can be changed by nutrition messages received at school., Design: Mixed-methods pre-post intervention study., Setting: Three government schools in Bagalkot, Belagavi and Raichur districts of Karnataka, India., Population: Students of grade six and seven and teachers involved in implementing the intervention., Methods: An educational intervention was co-developed by school teachers and nutrition experts using locally adapted resource materials that consisted of lectures, role play and practical demonstrations. Seven half-hour educational sessions were delivered by school teachers over 7 weeks to 455 students. Pre- and post-intervention tests measured changes in adolescents' knowledge about anaemia. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with teachers and focus groups with students explored their reactions to the intervention., Main Outcome Measures: Knowledge score related to anaemia., Results: The percentage of children with correct scores increased by 7.3-49.0 percentage points for the tested questions after implementation of the intervention. The mean knowledge score increased by 3.67 ± 0.17 (p < 0.01). During interviews, teachers and students highlighted high acceptance of the intervention and materials, an increase in awareness, a positive attitude towards changing behaviour around diet, an increase in the demand for iron and folic acid supplements and improved sharing of messages learned with peers and families. Challenges expressed included need for further training, time limitations and hesitancy in teaching about menstruation and pregnancy., Conclusions: Educational interventions carried out for adolescents by teachers in schools are effective in improving awareness and attitude related to anaemia and its prevention., (© 2023 The Authors. BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)