Burden of Teenage pregnancies in hilly area of eastern region of Nepal

Type Journal Article - Journal of Nobel Medical College
Title Burden of Teenage pregnancies in hilly area of eastern region of Nepal
Author(s)
Volume 3
Issue 1
Publication (Day/Month/Year) 2015
Page numbers 13-19
URL http://www.nepjol.info/index.php/JoNMC/article/download/12231/9916
Abstract
Teenage pregnancy, which is detrimental to the health of mother and child, is a common public
health problem worldwide. It is a problem that affects nearly every society- developed and
developing alike. The objective of this study was to find out the prevalence of teenage pregnancy
and its impact on birth outcome.The cross-sectional study was conducted among the residents of
Dhankuta municipality where 246 households were taken as subjects. Chi-square test was
applied to find out the significant difference between sociodemographic characteristics and
outcome variable i.e. birth outcome & age of 1st pregnancy. About 34.6% of respondents were
pregnant at below 20 years of age.The teenage pregnancies decreases as education level
increases (p<0.001). Furthermore, economic variable shows stronger association with teenage
pregnancies (p<0.001). Fetal complication was significantly higher among below 20 years of age
(81%) than women with 20 years and above (19%). The proportion of low birth weight (<2.5 kg)
babies was also significantly higher in women with teenage pregnancy (78.3%) than women with
20 years and above (21.7%). We conclude that the problem of teenage pregnancy is common and
has become a key public health concern for all. The teenage pregnancy was not favourable
condition for baby outcome.

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