The emotional wellbeing and future aspirations for the school-going young mothers: A case in the Lubombo Region of Eswatini

In Eswatini school-going young mothers who attend school in secondary schools in the Lubombo region face a number of challenges which result in emotional stresses. A qualitative study was utilised to examine the emotional wellbeing and future aspirations of school-going young mothers. 15 school-going young mothers from five (5) high schools were selected using purposive sampling. Focus group discussions and questionnaires were used to collect data from the school-going young mothers, and data were analysed using content and thematic analysis. The study findings revealed that the school-going mothers were subjected to emotionally distress from their parents, teachers and community members. Despite the challenges they still have a positive outlook towards school and life. The main recommendations for the study was that young mothers should be provided with parenting skills, psychosocial support and counselling to deal with the stress and challenges of being a young and school-going mother.