ABSTRACT
Teenage pregnancy was perceived as a problem for several reasons. A significant number of maternal deaths are attributed to unsafe, illegal abor tion among school-aged girls (Royston and Armstrong 1989; Mwateba 1990; Matasha 1998; WHO 1998). In Tanzania, young girls who find them selves pregnant are expelled from school, a stark reality that is seen as instrumental in a young girl's decision to abort (Puja and Kassimoto 1994). Obstructed labor, another cause of death among pregnant girls in Tanza nia, occurs when there is a disproportion between the size of the infant's head and the mother's pelvis. Pregnancy in girls whose bodies have not yet physically matured is often cited as a key factor contributing to life-threat ening complications and, ultimately, death during childbirth (WHO 1986; Kaisi 1988).
