Factors influencing age at first birth among women aged 15-49 in Kampala, Uganda.

Abstract

Introduction Teenage pregnancies significantly contribute to maternal and child morbidity and mortality.. In Uganda 25% of women begin childbearing by 19 years. This low age at first birth is one of the leading causes of the high fertility rates in Uganda which is currently at 5.4. Early ages at first child birth lead to various complications. Some of the complications associated with teenage pregnancy include: preterm labour, intrauterine growth retardation and low birth weight, neonatal death, obstructed labour, genital fistula and eclampsia. Furthermore, the reproductive health of the women involved is affected by unsafe abortion, sexually transmitted infections, sexual violence and limited access to medical services.

Methods The study used secondary data from the 2016 UDHS. . For this study, the individual record (UGIR) was considered during the analysis. This dataset had one record of each of the interviewed women aged from 15 to 49. Specifically this study considered only 665 women from Kampala region, Uganda. The data was analyzed in three forms; Univariate, Bivariate and Multivariate. STATA 16 was the statistical software that was used. Age at first birth was considered as the dependent variable which was made binary with adulthood being the distinction in the analysis above 18 and below 18.

Results The study found out that 70% of the women get their first birth when above 18 years of age. Secondary education ( OR =1.979, P-value= 0.004, C.I= 1.250 – 3.131), higher education (OR =3.233, P-value= 0.007, C.I= 1.412 – 7.404) and age at first birth (OR =11.509, P-value= 0.000, C.I= 6.271 – 21.122) were the independent factors which were significant in influencing the age at first birth in Kampala.

Conclusion The study found out that education and age at first birth were the factors which significantly influenced age at first birth.