The Prevalence Outcome and Associated Factors of Teenage Pregnancy in the Bamenda Health District

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy is a common public health problem worldwide because teenagers in general are ill-prepared to deal with the burden of pregnancy. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest burden of teenage pregnancy precisely in the west and central Africa; in Cameroon, about 12% of all births are to teenage mothers. Complications from pregnancy and childbirth are the leading cause of death among girls aged 15 to 19. Though the trend of teenage pregnancy tends to decrease in most parts of the world, this is not the case in our setting. The main aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, outcomes and the associated factors of teenage pregnancy in the Bamenda Health District (BHD). Materials and Method: This was a hospital-based cross-sectional descriptive and analytic study carried out at the maternity and postnatal units of the Bamenda Regional Hospital and the Nkwen Medicalised Health Center. A consecutive non-probabilistic sampling technique was used to recruit participants. A pretested questionnaire was used to collect information from the participant. Data was analysed using the software SPSS version 23. Bivariate logistic regression was used to test for associations. Statistical significance was set at p-value less than 0.05. Result: A total of 325 participants were recruited of which 44 were teenagers. The mean age of the participants was 25.02 ± 0.257 years. The mean age of teenagers was 17.49 ± 0.63 years, and mean adult age was 28.43 ± 5.64 years. The youngest participant was 15 years. Teenagers were significantly more likely to prematurity (OR = 0.14; 95% CI = 0.06 - 0.31; PV = 0.001), Low birth weight among teenagers (OR = 0.077; 95% CI = 0.03 - 0.21; PV = 0.001), Still birth; OR = 0.07; 95% CI = 0.01 - 0.86; PV = 0.03) Neonatal admission also high among teenagers (OR = 0.172, 95% CI = 0.08 - 0.39, PV = 0.001) compared to the babies of their adult counterpart. The rate of caesarean section and episiotomy was high among adult deliveries (21.7%). Conclusion: There is a high prevalence of teenage pregnancy (13.54%) in the Bamenda Health District. prematurity was independently associated with teenage pregnancy. perineal tears were the most common maternal outcome of teenage pregnancy. Adolescents/teenagers in rural areas, having a low level of income, and low level of education were associated with high level of teenage pregnancy.