Maly Christina, McClendon Katherine A, Baumgartner Joy Noel, Nakyanjo Neema, Ddaaki William George, Serwadda David, Nalugoda Fred Kakaire, Wawer Maria J, Bonnevie Erika, Wagman Jennifer A
Jhpiego, an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
University of California, Los Angeles School of Nursing, Los Angeles, California, USA.
Glob Qual Nurs Res. 2017 Aug 10;4:2333393617720555. doi: 10.1177/2333393617720555. eCollection 2017 Jan-Dec.
The leading causes of death and disability among Ugandan female adolescents aged 15 to 19 years are pregnancy complications, unsafe abortions, and childbirth. Despite these statistics, our understanding of how girls perceive adolescent pregnancy is limited. This qualitative study explored the social and contextual factors shaping the perceptions of adolescent pregnancy and childbirth among a sample of 12 currently pregnant and 14 never pregnant girls living in the rural Rakai District of Uganda. Interviews were conducted to elicit perceived risk factors for pregnancy, associated community attitudes, and personal opinions on adolescent pregnancy. Findings indicate that notions of adolescent pregnancy are primarily influenced by perceptions of control over getting pregnant and readiness for childbearing. Premarital pregnancy was perceived as negative whereas postmarital pregnancy was regarded as positive. Greater understanding of the individual and contextual factors influencing perceptions can aid in development of salient, culturally appropriate policies and programs to mitigate unintended adolescent pregnancies.
在乌干达15至19岁的女性青少年中，死亡和残疾的主要原因是妊娠并发症、不安全堕胎和分娩。尽管有这些统计数据，但我们对女孩如何看待青少年怀孕的了解仍然有限。这项定性研究探讨了社会和背景因素如何影响乌干达农村拉凯区12名目前怀孕的女孩和14名从未怀孕的女孩对青少年怀孕和分娩的看法。通过访谈来了解她们对怀孕的感知风险因素、相关的社区态度以及对青少年怀孕的个人看法。研究结果表明，青少年怀孕的观念主要受对怀孕控制的认知和生育准备程度的影响。婚前怀孕被视为负面的，而婚后怀孕则被视为正面的。深入了解影响这些观念的个体和背景因素，有助于制定突出的、符合文化背景的政策和项目，以减少意外青少年怀孕的发生。
