Entry Into Motherhood Among Adolescent Girls in Two Informal Settlements in Nairobi, Kenya (original) (raw)
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Journal of Global Health, 2021
Background Early marriage and maternity prevalence rates among adolescent girls remain alarmingly high in West and Central Africa (WCA). This study aims to explore the associations between socioeconomic factors and the prevalence of early marriage and maternity, thus contributing to the identification of girls at risk of early pregnancy or marriage. Methods We pooled data from national representative surveys (1986-2017) for 23 countries in WCA to examine associations between wealth, educational attainment, religious affiliation, and place of residence with adolescent marriage and maternity. We decomposed the wealth and education gradients for individual countries, while controlling for common characteristics of the local environment via the use of primary sampling unit fixed-effects. The pooled sample provides information on 262 721 girls (age 15-19 years). Survey weights and population share weights were used in the estimations. Results The prevalence of adolescent maternity and marriage exhibited a wealth and education gradient. Prevalence of marriage in the poorest wealth quintile was 41.1% (95% confidence interval (CI) = 38.8%-43.5%) and 10.5% (95% CI = 9.5%-11.6%) in the richest. For maternity it was 38.3% (95% CI = 36.4%-40.3%) in the poorest quintile and 12.7% (95% CI = 11.5%-13.9%) in the richest. Marriage/maternity is three/two times more likely to occur among girls with incomplete primary or no formal education than in those with at least primary. Maternity and marriage among adolescents exhibit a geographical pattern and differences between religious groups. Adolescent marriage prevalence was 34.4% (95% CI = 32.9%-35.8%) in rural areas compared to 13.3% (95% CI = 12.3%-14.2%) in urban areas. Adolescent maternity prevalence was 32.8% (95% CI = 31.7%-33.9%) in rural compared to 16.3% (95% CI = 15.3%-17.3%) in urban areas. Finally, the prevalence of adolescent marriage was substantially higher among Muslims compared to all other religious groups. Conclusions Our results highlight the disparities in the prevalence of adolescent marriage and maternity and confirm the existence of wealth and education gradients. These findings can help to improve targeting of vulnerable adolescents and to identify areas for policy implementation.
Journal of Global Health, 2021
Objective Early marriage and childbearing have substantial detrimental effects on both, the affected girls and women at the micro level, as well as entire economies on the macro level. West and Central African countries have some of the highest prevalence rates of early marriage and maternity worldwide. This work attempts to quantify the long-term economic, societal, and fertility effects of marriage and pregnancy in early and late adolescence in West and Central Africa. Methods We used pooled cross-sectional data collected between 1986 and 2017 in 21 West and Central African countries within the DHS and MICS programs to estimate the associations of marriage and maternity during early (10-14) and late (15-19) adolescence retrospectively on wealth accumulation, educational attainment, as well as the woman's lifetime fertility. Results Descriptively, women who married or gave birth as young or very young adolescents are overrepresented among the poorest and least educated quintiles of the adult population and underrepresented among the richest and most educated. These gradients were confirmed within a regression analysis which additionally controlled for current age of the woman and PSU fixed effects. Marrying in early/late adolescence was associated with a 12%/6% higher likelihood of being in the poorest wealth quintile in later life and 29%/20% increased likelihood of not completing primary education, as compared to women who married as adults. Maternity in early/late adolescence was associated with a 7%/4% higher likelihood of belonging to the poorest quintile and 17%/10% higher likelihood of being uneducated. Moreover, women who married/gave birth during early or late adolescence, on average, have 2.2/2.3 or 1.4/1.5 more children than those who have married/become mothers as adults. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the dire consequences of early marriage and maternity hit youngest girls the hardest-both immediately and long-term. Hence, it is not only worthwhile to prevent adolescent marriage and pregnancy in general, but also specifically target very young girls below age 15 to attempt to at least delay such far-reaching demographic life events.
Levels and trends of adolescent marriage and maternity in West and Central Africa, 1986-2017
Journal of Global Health, 2021
Background The world has made considerable progress in the reduction of adolescent maternity and early marriage. However, this progress has been uneven, with many countries finding themselves far from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals in this dimension. We assessed levels and trends over time in adolescent marriage and maternity prevalence within the West and Central African region as well as their correlation with select macro-level indicators for income and social institutions. Methods We estimated country-specific prevalence rates using survey data (pooled cross-sectional) conducted between 1986 and 2017. The pooled sample provides information on 262 721 adolescent girls between the ages of 15 and 19. We assessed the relative country-level trends by comparing prevalence rates from the first and latest available survey in each country. We further analyzed regional trends by country income group (low-and middle-income) and examined the association of prevalence rates with measurements of gender discrimination and social institutions at the country-level. Estimations were conducted using survey weights and country-specific weights for population shares in the pooled sample. Results Prevalence of adolescent maternity declined from 30.1 percent (95% confidence interval (CI) = 29.6%-32.2%) in the 1990s, to 28.7 percent (95% CI = 27.9%-29.6%) in the 2000s and 26.2 percent (95% CI = 25.4%-27.1%) in the 2010s. Adolescent marriage rates decreased from 37.3 percent (95% CI = 35.5%-39.1%) in the 1990s to 27.5 percent (95% CI = 26.5%-28.6%) in the 2000s, and to 24.9 percent (95% CI = 24.1%-25.7%) in the 2010s. Between 1986 and 2017, adolescent marriage decreased in all countries except for the Central African Republic (with a rise from 39% to 55%) and Niger (56% to 61%). The prevalence of adolescent maternity decreased in all but three countries: Congo, Dem. Rep. (25% to 37%), Niger (36% to 40%), and the Central African Republic (36% to 49%). When grouped by income level, the prevalence was 8 percentage points higher in low-income countries than in middle-income countries in both outcomes. We did not establish any statisticly significant association between adolescent marriage and maternity with country-level measures of discrimination against women. However, we found evidence of an association between specific legal measures of protection against early marriage and lower prevalence rates for both early marriage and maternity. Conclusions Despite considerable progress in the reduction of adolescent maternity and marriage over the last 30 years, current levels of both indicators remain overall high in the WCA region, with high heterogeneity across individual countries. Countries with higher income level and higher standard in legal protection of young girls perform consistently better on both indicators. The prevalence rates of adolescent marriage and maternity reversed over the course of three decades, so that nowadays adolescent maternity rates exceed adolescent marriage rates in most countries. Further research is needed to understand the weak or non-existent association between adolescent marriage and maternity with gender discrimination and social institutions.
Adolescent childbearing experiences in Kenya: geographical and socioeconomic determinants
2010
Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest level of teenage pregnancies in the world. Some studies on this topic highlight the presence of unmet reproductive health needs of adolescent in different regions. Improving maternal health has been established as a key development priority among the Millennium Development Goals, and upgrading reproductive and maternal health is usually associated with the eradication of inequality and poverty and with the presence of health care programs and services devoted to girls’ education. We attempt to investigate the geographical and socioeconomic determinants of both teenage pregnancies and maternal health behaviours among adolescent women in Kenya. We ascertain the influence of the availability of health care facilities mainly oriented to the specific needs of reproductive health. Main data are represented by 2003 Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey. In addition, the DHS data set collects Global Positioning System locators for each of the primary...
Premarital Sex, Schoolgirl Pregnancy, and School Quality in Rural Kenya
Studies in Family Planning, 2001
aspects of the school environment affect the initiation of premarital sex among girls and boys in three districts of Kenya. The results suggest that, although neither the school nor the home appears to influence whether boys engage in sex prior to marriage, for girls, a school characterized by a gender-neutral atmosphere appears to reduce the risk of their engaging in premarital sex. Furthermore, although policymakers in Kenya are clearly concerned with the problem of "schoolgirl pregnancy," the data indicate that in this sample, pregnancy is not the primary reason that girls leave school. (STUDIES IN FAMILY PLANNING 2001; 32[4]: 285-301) Barbara S.
Determinants of Early Marriage Among Young Women in Homa Bay County in Kenya
2016
Early marriage denies children childhood experience, endangers their health, and terminates their expectations. In Democratic Republic of Congo, though the 2006 sexual violence law criminalizes child marriages in the country, but the practice of early marriage persists. DRC has one of the uppermost child marriage incidence rates in the world, where nearly seventy-four percent of girls and women between 15 and 19 years of age are married. This paper examined the socioeconomic and demographic determinants of early marriage among young women in the DRC. Descriptive and multivariate analyses performed show that young women who faced first sexual intercourse before 16 are 73.5 times more at risk of early marriage more than those who initiated it at the age 18-24. Also, those with no education have a higher risk of early union than their higher educated counterparts. The paper recommends the adoption of a formal sex education framework before first sexual intercourse.
A Multilevel Analysis of Risk and Protective Factors for Adolescent Childbearing in Malawi
Social Sciences, 2021
Although teenage pregnancy and childbearing has declined throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the recent increase in teenage pregnancy in countries such as Malawi has prompted interest from social researchers. Using Malawi Demographic and Health Survey (MDHS) data from 2004 to 2015, this study employs multilevel logistic regression to examine the magnitude of change over time in risk and protective factors for teenage childbearing. During this period, teenage childbearing declined from 36.1% (C.I.: 31.5–36.7) in 2004 to 25.6% (C.I.: 24.0–27.3) in 2010 before increasing to 29.0% (C.I.: 27.4–30.7) in 2015. Age and being married (compared to never married) were consistently significantly associated with increased odds of teenage childbearing. However, delaying sexual debut, attaining secondary education, belonging to the richest quintile and rural residence offered protective effects against early motherhood, while Muslim affiliation (compared to Christian denominations) was associated with ...
Determinants of Youth Pregnancy in Public Secondary Schools in Kiambu County, Kenya
International Journal of Advances in Scientific Research and Engineering, 2019
Sub-Saharan Africa has one of the highest levels of teenage pregnancies in the world. In spite of that, there is the paucity of research on the causes of teenage pregnancies in African countries. Adolescence pregnancy and the eventual dropping out of school have been and still is a major problem bedeviling the education sector in many parts of developing countries. This study investigates the determinants of youth pregnancy in public secondary schools in Kiambu County, Kenya. The objectives will be: to establish the influence of family stability; assess the influence of peer groups; and determine the influence of government policies on youth pregnancy in public schools in Kiambu County, Kenya. This study will adopt two theoretical foundations namely: Ecological Systems Theory and Problem Behaviour theory. The study will adopt the descriptive survey design and it is a cross-sectional study. The study targeted 15 public girls' secondary schools. From these schools, 100 girls were sampled using purpose and stratified random sampling techniques. Data from students shall be collected using questionnaires while the principals will be interviewed. Data from interviews will be analysed thematically and the results obtained used to validate those from students' questionnaires. The findings of the study are bound to help adolescents in making better decisions. Parents and teachers will get an opportunity through open forums to educate adolescents on healthy decision making. The study will add to the existing body of knowledge on adolescent pregnancy. The findings shall be of immense benefit to the government and other education stakeholders to strengthen the existent measures aimed at checking adolescent pregnancy.
Cradle of Knowledge: African Journal of Educational and Social Science Research (The)
The purpose of the study was to establish the relationship between social factors and teenage pregnancy in public secondary schools in Turkana Central Sub County, Kenya. The study was guided by classical liberal theory of equal opportunities and social Darwinism. The study adopted a cross-sectional descriptive survey research design. The target population of the study were school principals, teachers and female students who were drawn from mixed and single girls’ public secondary schools in Turkana Central Sub County. Stratified simple random sampling technique was used to select the study sample. Data was collected using Document analysis guide and Questionnaire. Validity of research instrument results was determined by consulting experts. Reliability was determined by use of test re-test technique. Data was analyzed using descriptive statistics (frequencies, percentages and means) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and t-test) to test hypotheses. Data was presented using tables. Fi...