Teenage childbearing is considered a social problem with costs to the teenage mother, her
child and society at large.  In South Africa, media attention suggests a contemporary crisis in
teen childbearing, often linking this to a fear that the Child Support Grant incentivises
motherhood among teens. Despite these assertions, there is little empirical research
assessing the trends in teen childbearing over time in South Africa and the intergenerational
consequences of teenage childbearing. This paper uses six nationally representative
household surveys to show that, while teenage childbearing decreased between 1980 and
2008, it is not an uncommon event in South Africa. Around 25% of women gave birth before
age 20 in 2008. Children born to teen mothers are found to have worse educational
outcomes, with children of young teen mothers most at risk. Differences are found between
population groups, with the association is largest and increasing over time for coloureds and
relatively small and stable for Africans. About half the association can be explained by
relative levels of poverty and maternal education.