“When the Baby Sleeps, I Study”

BY: .

For many of the young women in Inanda, north of Durban, education does not pause for motherhood - it happens in between. 

That lived reality is at the centre of Ms Samkelisiwe Ndlovu’s master’s research: ‘A Qualitative Study of the Intersection of Early Motherhood and Educational Aspirations: A Study of Young Women’s Experiences in Inanda, KwaZulu-Natal’.

Her study, supervised by Professor Pranitha Maharaj, traces how young mothers navigate classrooms, kitchens, and childcare simultaneously, often in the same hour.

“In their daily lives, young mothers juggle childcare, household duties, and studies. For these women, the identities of ‘student’ and ‘mother’ are not isolated but are lived simultaneously,” she explained.

The reality, she says, is a delicate and often exhausting balance.

These are students attending night classes, relying on informal childcare, and studying in fragments of time while carrying what she describes as a constant “cognitive load” of caregiving. The pressure is not only practical, it is emotional.

She notes, “They manage emotional strain like guilt and isolation often through ‘time management and peer networks,’ and by depending on family support for childcare.”

But according to Ndlovu, behind the daily logistics is something deeper: resilience that is not abstract, but necessary. In this context, resilience is far more than a conceptual term; it is a vital survival tactic.

Her research determined that many of the women describe early motherhood as a stop-start educational journey shaped by ‘time poverty’ and financial strain. School fees become transport money. Study time becomes childcare time. Academic progression is often delayed or interrupted entirely.

Yet even in interruption, education remains central. “Motherhood serves as a powerful motivator. For many participants, education is no longer just personal advancement; it becomes a ‘Motherhood Mandate’, a pathway to stability for their children,” Ndlovu found.

One participant, Nonhle (22), describes what she calls an uphill battle: the constant tension between ambition and survival. “Is it even worth trying?” is her reflection when obstacles feel relentless. Her experience captures how aspirations are not lost, but held under pressure, noted Ndlovu.

Another participant, Thobeka (23), frames her journey differently. Her motivation is her daughter: she wants her child to know that “her mom did not give up.” For Zonke (19), the goal is simpler but equally powerful - to show that women can be ‘strong and independent’.

“These stories show that their children are not barriers to their dreams, but the very reason those dreams exist,” Ndlovu said.

She added that the weight they carry is not only personal. In Inanda, young mothers also face layered social expectations from cultural norms around early motherhood, to judgment from communities, to pressure within households where domestic labour is prioritised over education.

She explained, “There is a heavy cultural demand to be a ‘good mother’, where self-sacrifice is often expected and education is sometimes viewed as secondary or selfish.”

Support systems can make the difference between staying in school or dropping out. Grandmothers often provide what she calls an “intergenerational safety net,” while peer networks, including WhatsApp groups, offer emotional and practical survival tools. But support is often conditional, and sometimes fragile.

When it comes to partners, Ndlovu found that the picture is mixed. Assistance may come with what she describes as a “provider trap”, where financial support can limit autonomy or educational priority.

At the structural level, socio-economic conditions shape nearly every decision. “Financial hardship is the most direct obstacle, forcing young mothers into a ‘zero-sum’ reality where survival needs outweigh education costs,” she explained.

In some cases, she says, motherhood becomes one of the only available routes to recognised adulthood in contexts where opportunities are limited.

Still, the study is not defined by constraint alone.

Many participants actively construct ways forward through strict routines, shared childcare, informal study groups, and determination to complete their studies “in the smallest available windows of time.”

For some, staying in education becomes an act of resistance. For others, it becomes a blueprint for what comes next, often in the form of returning to their communities as professionals who understand the struggles they once experienced.

Across all narratives, one thread remains constant: education is not abandoned, but reworked.

As Ndlovu reflects, the young women in her study are not defined by early motherhood alone. They are navigating profound emotional guilt and physical exhaustion, while still holding onto the belief that education remains the most stable pathway toward change, not only for themselves, but for the next generation.

Words: Rakshika Sibran

Photograph: Sethu Dlamini