Risky factors associated with adolescent pregnancy among post-primary girls: A case study of Nansana Municipality

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to assess the risky factors associated with adolescent pregnancy post primary school girls in Nansana Municipality. It answered the following objectives: to assess the association between adolescent’s living environment; to find out the effect of parental factors on the risk of adolescent pregnancy; to establish the impact of sex education programs and lastly examine the influence of use of contraceptive on the risk of adolescent pregnancy. This study employed a cross-sectional study employing both quantitative and qualitative methods to understand and describe factors contributing to the high adolescent pregnancy rate in the Municipality. Purposive sampling was used to approximate 96 pregnant and non-pregnant adolescent students Nansana Municipality. The findings reveal that the study was dominated by the senior five and senior six students and majority of these students (64%) had boyfriends. Owing to the fact that most of the student were not having boyfriends, the study further revealed that the majority (73%) were not pregnant and had never been pregnant yet a few (27%) had ever been pregnant during their time of school. Lastly, the results revealed that the highest percentage (39%) got pregnant between the age of 10-14 years. Girls with higher age, girls from rural areas and those with parents who attained secondary as their highest education level had higher odds of being pregnant and girls with high parental income, Muslim girls and high parental communication had less odds of being pregnant. Parents living and meals a day were not significant. Through this study, it can be concluded that higher age, residing in rural areas, low parental income, Christian girls, girls with parents who attained secondary as their highest level of education, girls with low parental communication continue to serve as factors related to the risk of teenage pregnancy and parenting