Pregnancy Outcomes and Risk Factors among Adolescents in Buea Health District, Southwest Region, Cameroon: A Comparative Study

Despite a global progress recorded in reproductive health education, adolescent pregnancy remains high especially in low-income countries including Cameroon. This study assessed pregnancy outcomes and associated risk factors among adolescents in Buea Health District, Southwest Region, Cameroon. Methodology: A community-based descriptive cross-sectional research design was used in data collection from March to June 2017. Retrospective data from January 2014 to December 2016 from the maternity department of four randomly selected health facilities in Buea Health District were collected. Moreover, using structured questionnaire, data were collected from post-menarcheal adolescents living within the health area. Data collected were analyzed using SPSS Statistics 20.0 and were considered significant at P = 0.05. Results: The proportion of adolescent births was 16.2% (652/4031). Low birth weight infants (OR= 1.6, 95 % CI: 1.28-2.02) and preterm babies (OR= 2.4,95% CI:1.86-3.32) were the adverse fetal outcomes attributed to adolescent pregnancies. Adverse maternal outcomes were higher in adult women than adolescent mothers (P<0.05). Unemployment (OR=2.1,95% CI:0.99-4.32), poor financial status (OR=12.1, 95% CI: 2.60-55.97), peer pressure (OR=1.3, CI:0.86-2.39), lacked knowledge of reproductive health (OR=1.79,95%CI: 1.04-2.98) and poor use of contraceptives (OR=2.24,95%CI: 1.30-3.59) were associated with adolescent pregnancy. Conclusion: Adolescent pregnancies are frequent in Buea Health District with higher probabilities of developing adverse fetal outcomes than adult pregnancies. Unemployment, poor financial status and lack of knowledge on reproductive health were associated with the high prevalence of adolescent pregnancy thus indicating a need for approaches that promote adolescent's involvement in family planning activities. Marcelus U. Ajonina | Carine K. Nfor | Kenric B. Ware | Raphael A. Abong | Elvis A. Akomoneh | Sylvester N. Atanga "Pregnancy Outcomes and Risk Factors among Adolescents in Buea Health District, Southwest Region, Cameroon: A Comparative Study" Published in International Journal of Trend in Scientific Research and Development (ijtsrd), ISSN: 2456-6470, Volume-2 | Issue-2 , February 2018, URL: http://www.ijtsrd.com/papers/ijtsrd9555.pdf http://www.ijtsrd.com/medicine/gynecology/9555/pregnancy-outcomes-and-risk-factors-among-adolescents-in-buea-health-district-southwest-region-cameroon-a-comparative-study/marcelus-u-ajonina