Fertility awareness and teenage pregnancy in rural western Uganda: a community-based cross-sectional study

Abstract

Background: Teenage pregnancy (pregnancy among girls aged 13-19 years) is prevalent in Uganda but data about the associatedfactors are limited.Objective: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Buliisa district, western Uganda. Wehypothesized that fertility awareness is associated with reduced likelihood of teenage pregnancy.Methods: In this cross-sectional study, we included girls aged 15-19 years and collected data using a structured questionnaire.The modified Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the association between fertility awareness and teenage pregnancy,adjusted for confounders, reported using adjusted prevalence risk ratio (aPR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).Results: Of 246 teenagers, the prevalence of teenage pregnancy was 41.5% while fertility awareness was 56.7%. The age category 18-19 years (aPR, 3.44; 95% CI, 2.16-5.47), fertility awareness (aPR, 1.80; 95%CI, 1.30-2.51) and Muslim faith (aPR, 1.37; 95%CI, 1.04-1.80) were associated with increased likelihood of teenage pregnancy. Living with a father (aPR, 0.61; 95%CI, 0.48-0.76), mother (aPR, 0.65; 95%CI, 0.524-0.81), or both parents (aPR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.43-0.76) was associated with a reduced likelihood of teenage pregnancy.Conclusion: The prevalence of teenage pregnancy in Bulisa district is high. There is a need to target teenagers with correctfertility information, including the engagement of parents and religious leaders.