Adolescent Mothers Reproductive Health Status in an Iranian Setting: A Cross-Sectional study

Abstract

Background: Reproductive health of married adolescent mothers including family planning, sexual, psycho-social and maternal health is still a severe and persistent challenge, where millions of women give birth before the age of 18 in developing countries. Therefore, this study was conducted to determine the reproductive health status in married adolescent mothers attending Ardabil health care centers in 2019. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted on 312 married adolescent mothers, which were selected through a convenient sampling method in 2019. A demographic information questionnaire and Adolescent Women's Reproductive Health Questionnaire were completed anonymously. Data were analyzed using Statisical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS version 20). Results: The mean age of the participants, the mean age of their husbands, and the mean age of marriage were 16.41±0.85, 24.18±2.29 and 15.06±1.15 years, respectively. The mean score of reproductive health for adolescent mothers in this study was 63.78 ±11.06. There was a significant relationship between age, education, parity, age and education of husband and contraceptive methods with reproductive health status in married adolescent mothers (p<0.05). Conclusion: This study showed that to promote the reproductive health in adolescent mother, we need to improve the education level, and awareness of women, and their spouses and increasing their ability to use contraceptive methods. This study supports the evidence of the negative role of early marriage and motherhood on the reproductive health of adolescent mothers.