The prevalence of teenage pregnancy and early motherhood and its associated factors among late adolescent (15–19) years girls in the Gambia: based on 2019/20 Gambian demographic and health survey data

Abstract

Introduction Pregnancy and early motherhood among teenage girls is the current issue of public health burden in developing countries. Although the Gambia has one of the highest adolescent fertility rates in Africa, there is no data record about it in The Gambia. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence of pregnancy and early motherhood and its determinants among late adolescent girls in the Gambia. Methods It is a secondary data analysis using the 2019–20 Gambian demographic and health survey data. A total of 2,633 weighted 15–19 years old girls were included in the study. Using Stata 14 version, a pseudo logistic regression analysis method was employed to declare factors significantly associated with pregnancy and early motherhood among 15–19 years old late-adolescent girls in the Gambia. Variables with a p -value of < 0.2 were entered into multivariable regression analysis, and after controlling other confounding factors adjusted odds ratio of 95% CI was applied to identify associated variables. Results Pregnancy and early motherhood were found in 13.42% of late adolescent Gambian girls. Logistic regression analysis depicted that a unit increase in adolescent age was positively significantly associated with pregnancy and early motherhood (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 2.15; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.93,2.39), after period ended knowledge of ovulatory cycle (aOR = 1.99; 95% CI = 1.23,3.22), being from a family size of greater than ten (aOR = 1.25; 95 CI = 1.01,1.55) times more likely to become pregnant and early motherhood than their counterparts respectively. In contrast, rich in wealth (aOR = 0.35; 95% CI = 0.23,0.54), having primary education (aOR = 0.58; 95% CI = 0.43,0.79), secondary and above education (aOR = 0.12; 95% CI = 0.09,0.17). Conclusion Pregnancy and early motherhood remain significant public health challenges in the Gambia. Strengthening female education, empowerment, reproductive health life skill training and awareness, encouraging disadvantaged females, and designing timely policies and interventions are urgently needed.

The socio-economic factors influencing adolescent childbirth in Indonesia

“…The findings of this study are supported by research conducted on adolescents in Gambia, which indicates that adolescents with moderate and high levels of education are less likely to experience adolescent fertility compared to those without education [6]. This study aligns with research on adolescents in Burundi, demonstrating that adolescents without education are four times more at risk (aOR = 4.18, 95% CI: 1.88 -9.30, p < 0.001), and those with only primary education (SD) are twice as likely (aOR = 2.58, 95% CI: 1.54 -4.25, p < 0.001) to experience adolescent fertility compared to adolescents with secondary or higher education.…”

“…This implies that adolescents from the lowest economic stratum are more likely to experience adolescent fertility than those from the highest economic stratum. This finding is supported by a study conducted by Terefe [6]on adolescents in Gambia, indicating that adolescents classified in the highest economic stratum are less likely to experience fertility compared to those classified in the lowest economic stratum [6].…”

Magnitude and Factors Associated with Teenage Pregnancy in Somaliland: Evidence from Somaliland Health and Demographic Survey, 2020

“…This is supported by other studies that reported similar findings from Nigeria, 30 Ethiopia 31 and Gambia. 32 A systematic review conducted to assess risk factors of teenage pregnancy in Sub-Saharan countries of Africa showed that teenagers from low socioeconomic status were susceptible to early marriage and pregnancy because parents want to secure their daughters financial future. 33 The study also showed that women with lower educational attainment had greater odds of teenage pregnancy compared to women who attended tertiary school.…”

Pooled prevalence and associated factors of teenage pregnancy among women aged 15 to 19 years in sub-Saharan Africa: evidence from 2019 to 2022 demographic and health survey data

“…Preventing pregnancy among teenagers and pregnancy-related morbidity and mortality are basic to achieving positive health outcomes across the life course and vital for achieving the sustainable development goals related to maternal and newborn health [ 22 ]. Previous studies conducted elsewhere showed that the prevalence of teenage pregnancy was 44.3% in sub-Saharan Africa [ 23 ], 24.88% in sub-Saharan Africa high fertility countries [ 24 ], 13.42% in the Gambia [ 25 ], and 54.6% in East Africa [ 26 ]. Studies also showed that age, contraceptive utilization, family size, knowledge about contraceptives, marital status, age at first marriage, working status, household wealth status, community-level contraceptive utilization, residence, media exposure, unmet need for family planning, educational level, feelings about the current pregnancy, and relation to the household head were significantly associated with teenage pregnancy [ 23 – 30 ].…”