UNINTENDED PREGNANCY AMONG NIGERIA TEENAGERS (EDUCATION PROJECT TOPICS AND MATERIALS)
ABSTRACT
Unintended pregnancy (both unplanned and unwanted) among adolescents is a common public health problem worldwide. Repeated pregnancies in this group also occur frequently and are related to increased risks of adverse outcomes for adolescent mothers and their babies. Pregnancy and childbirth-related deaths are the number one killers of 15–19-year-old girls worldwide, with near Unintended Pregnancy among Unmarried Adolescents and Young Women in Anambra State, South East Nigeria Amobi Ilika1 and Igwegbe Anthony This study identified the characteristics and factors influencing unintended pregnancy among unmarried young women in a rural community in south-east Nigeria. One hundred and thirty six unmarried teens with unintended pregnancy attending a Christian hospital in Ozubulu, a rural community in south-east Nigeria, from January 1998 to December 2001 were included in the study. Information was obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. Over 75% of the girls had their first sexual intercourse by 19 years, and over 69% had multiple partners.
INTRODUCTION
Pregnancy among unmarried adolescents or young women is a serious reproductive health problem especially in developing countries. More than 14 million adolescent women give birth each year. A large proportion of these pregnancies is unwanted, and it is estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) that as many as 4.4 million abortions are sought by adolescent girls each year. Every year, almost one million teenage girls become pregnant in Nigeria and many of these pregnancies are unintended and unwanted. The health and social consequences of unwanted or unintended teenage pregnancy have been very much described. These include, among others, increased risk of maternal death, pregnancy and birth-related complications such as excessive bleeding, anaemia, obstructed labor, stillbirth and infant death. The socio-economic consequences include education and job termination, stigmatization, and loss of self-esteem and perpetuation of the poverty trap and cycle. With the rampaging HIV/AIDS epidemic and other sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) in the sub-Saharan region, unintended teenage pregnancy among unmarried young women has become a disturbing public health problem, not only because it is a risk factor for HIV/AIDS transmission, but also because it poses a serious adolescent reproductive health and development challenge.
