Socio-demographic risk factors for unintended pregnancy among unmarried adolescent Nigerian girls

Abstract

Background: Globally, unintended births among unmarried adolescent girls are a major contributor to maternal and childhood mortality, the vicious cycle of ill-health, poverty, and truncated educational opportunities. Nigeria has the highest rates of adolescent fertility in sub-Saharan Africa. Over 900 000 births to adolescents occur annually and 150 out of every 1000 women who give birth in Nigeria are 19 years old or under.

Objective: To document and investigate socio-demographic risk factors for unintended pregnancy among unmarried adolescent Nigerian girls.

Methods: Data for this study were drawn from the 2008 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey. Univariate and multivariate statistical analyses were used to assess the relationship between adolescent pregnancy and socio-demographic contextual factors focusing on sex and age of household head, adolescent girls’ age, and educational attainment, place of residence, religious affiliation, and household wealth index. All data were analysed using STATA Version 11.

Results: Non-pregnant adolescents had older household heads; such households were wealthy, and parents of such households had higher educational standing. Female-headed households were less likely to experience unwanted adolescent pregnancy compared to those of the reference group category (OR = 0.56, 95% CI = 0.3920–0.8073).

Conclusion: There is a significant relationship between age and sex of household head and risk of unintended adolescent pregnancy among unmarried adolescent girls. Adolescent girls from households headed by young adults are more likely to experience adolescent pregnancy compared to adolescent girls from households headed by older adults.

Keywords:

• adolescent pregnancy
• age and household headship
• Nigeria
• sex