Poor Pregnancy Outcomes among Adolescents in South Nyanza Region of Kenya

Abstract

In this paper, we examine factors associated with poor pregnancy outcomes among teenagers in South Nyanza region of Kenya. The analysis is based on a recent WHO funded study on Adolescent safe motherhood in the region, which involved a survey of 1247 adolescents aged 12-19 and in-depth interviews with 39 of the adolescents who had experienced very early pregnancies or a pregnancy wastage. The indicators of poor pregnancy outcomes analysed include pregnancy wastage and pre-term delivery. A striking finding is the unusually high rate of pre-term deliveries, especially in cases of unintended pregnancies. Analysis of the qualitative data based on in-depth interviews sheds some light on possible explanations for the poor pregnancy outcomes observed among these adolescents. In particular, unsafe abortion attempts and poor maternal health-care emerge as important issues of concern.