Adolescent mothers: A qualitative study on barriers and facilitators to mental health in a low-resource setting in Cape Town, South Africa

Several key components for adolescent-friendly mental health services emerged from our findings: integrate routine mental health screening into existing obstetric services to de-stigmatise mental health problems and optimise screening coverage; coordinate obstetric and counselling appointment times to rationalise the use of limited resources; and sensitise care providers to the needs of adolescents to reduce stigma around adolescent sexual activity and mental illness. A non-judgemental, caring and confidential relationship between counsellors and clients is crucial for successful interactions.