Lincoln International Institute for Rural Health, College of Social Science, University of Lincoln. Brayford Pool, Lincoln, Lincolnshire. LN6 7TS, UK.
Global South Health Research and Services, GSHS, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
Int Health. 2022 Sep 7;14(5):501-509. doi: 10.1093/inthealth/ihab056.
In this article we report the prevalence and determinants of intended or wanted pregnancies among young women 15-24 y of age in selected sub-Saharan African countries.
This cross-sectional study used pooled data from current Demographic and Health Surveys conducted between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2019 in 29 countries in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). The sample size comprised 14 257 young women (15-24 y of age). Multivariable binary logistic regression models were used to present the results as adjusted odds ratios.
The prevalence of intended pregnancies was 67.7%, with the highest and lowest prevalence in Gambia (89.9%) and Namibia (37.7%), respectively. Intended pregnancy was lower among young women who had knowledge of modern contraceptives, those with a secondary/higher education and those with four or more births. Lower odds of intended pregnancy were observed among young women in the richer wealth quintile and those who lived in southern Africa.
To reduce intended pregnancies in sub-Saharan African countries such as Gambia, Burkina Faso and Nigeria, there is a need for government and non-governmental organisations to recalibrate current and past interventions such as investment in increasing formal education for women and poverty alleviation programmes, as well as augmenting job creation, including skill-building. These interventions have to be sensitive to the cultural realities of each setting, especially with regards to early marriages and womanhood.
本文报告了撒哈拉以南非洲（SSA）选定国家中 15-24 岁年轻女性的计划妊娠或期望妊娠的流行情况及其决定因素。
本横断面研究使用了 2010 年 1 月 1 日至 2019 年 12 月 31 日期间在 SSA 29 个国家进行的当前人口与健康调查的汇总数据。样本量包括 14257 名年轻女性（15-24 岁）。采用多变量二项逻辑回归模型来呈现调整后的优势比作为结果。
计划妊娠的流行率为 67.7%，其中冈比亚（89.9%）和纳米比亚（37.7%）的流行率最高和最低。对现代避孕药具有所了解、接受过中等/高等教育以及生育 4 个及以上子女的年轻女性，计划妊娠的可能性较低。在较富裕的财富五分位数和生活在南部非洲的年轻女性中，计划妊娠的可能性较低。
为了降低冈比亚、布基纳法索和尼日利亚等撒哈拉以南非洲国家的计划妊娠率，政府和非政府组织需要重新调整当前和过去的干预措施，例如投资增加女性的正规教育和减贫方案，以及增加就业机会，包括技能建设。这些干预措施必须考虑到每个环境的文化现实，特别是在早婚和女性地位方面。
