Publication:

Prevalence and health system predictors of pregnancy among adolescents in Rivercess County, Liberia

Background Adolescents are becoming pregnant between 10 and 19 years of age. There are 16 million teenage mothers worldwide who give birth every year, accounting for 11% of all births. An estimated 1 in 16 African women experience unintended pregnancy, leading to significant psychosocial consequences, morbidity and mortality. It is estimated that 45% of child births in SSA occur unintentionally among adolescents aged 15-19, while half of unsafe abortions occur among women under 25 years old.

Method The study employed cross-sectional descriptive analytical design. Total of 425 adolescents recruited from the community consenting /assenting participation. Data were obtained using interview questionnaires, FGD and KII. Descriptive and inferential statistics done using SPSS version 24.0 and Chi-square test was performed at 95% confidence intervals and 0.05 error of precision. Ethical approval obtained from the Liberia Research Ethical Review Board.

Result Health system factors that were associated with adolescent pregnancy included distance (p=0.001), main source of information (p=0.001), availability of educational materials (0.003), adequacy of services (0.042), availability of adolescent services (p=0.007), ease of accessibility of services (p=0.001), sufficiency of outreach programs (p=0.001) and Health facilities offering variety of contraceptive options for adolescents (p=0.005).

Conclusion The study found that 30% of adolescents had experienced pregnancy. The study recommends scaled up of comprehensive age specific sex education in schools and provision of SRH services through mobile clinics/ outreach with flexible service delivery times and peer education to allow adolescents to utilize the services.