Ayalew Hiwotie Getaneh, Liyew Alemneh Mekuriaw, Tessema Zemenu Tadesse, Worku Misganaw Gebrie, Tesema Getayeneh Antehunegn, Alamneh Tesfa Sewunet, Teshale Achamyeleh Birhanu, Yeshaw Yigizie, Alem Adugnaw Zeleke
Department of Midwifery, School of Nursing and Midwifery, College of Medicine and Health Sciences, Wollo University, Dessie, Ethiopia.
Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Institute of Public Health, College of Medicine and Health Sciences and Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, University of Gondar, Gondar, Ethiopia.
BMC Womens Health. 2022 Nov 21;22(1):464. doi: 10.1186/s12905-022-02048-7.
Unintended pregnancy predisposes women to unsafe abortion, malnutrition, mental illness, and even death. Though adolescent girls and young women are at higher risk of unintended pregnancy, there is a paucity of evidence in its burden and associated factors in sub-Saharan Africa. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the prevalence and factors associated with unintended pregnancy among adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa.
This study was a secondary data analysis of 36 sub-Saharan African countries with a total weighted sample of 17,797 adolescent girls and young women. A multilevel logistic regression model was fitted and, the Adjusted Odds Ratio (AOR) with a 95% Confidence Interval (CI) was reported to assess the association between the independent variables and unintended pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The pooled prevalence of unintended pregnancy in sub-Saharan Africa was 30.01 with 95% CI (29.38-30.74). In multivariable multilevel logistic regression analysis, adolescent girls, and young women with higher education (AOR = 0.71 95%CI 0.52-0.97), those who know modern contraceptive methods (AOR = 0.86 95%CI 0.75-0.98), and traditional contraceptive methods (AOR = 0.90, 95%CI 0.59-0.95), married (AOR = 0.80, 95%CI 0.73-0.88), those from female-headed households (AOR = 0.86,95%CI 0.78-0.94), had lower odds of unintended pregnancy. Whereas adolescent girls and young women from Central Africa (AOR = 2.09,95%CI 1.23-3.55), southern Africa (AOR = 5.23, 95%CI 2.71-10.09), and Eastern Africa (AOR = 1.07,95%CI 1.07-2.66) had higher odds of unintended pregnancy.
Prevalence of unintended pregnancy in Sub-Saharan Africa is high. Therefore, educating adolescent girls and young women, and improving their knowledge about family planning services is vital. It is also better for the government of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and other global and local stakeholders to work hard to ensure universal access to sexual and reproductive healthcare services, including family planning, education, and the integration of reproductive health into national strategies and programs to reduce unintended pregnancy.
意外怀孕会使女性面临不安全堕胎、营养不良、精神疾病甚至死亡的风险。尽管少女和年轻女性意外怀孕的风险较高，但在撒哈拉以南非洲地区，关于其负担及相关因素的证据却很少。因此，本研究旨在评估撒哈拉以南非洲地区少女和年轻女性意外怀孕的患病率及其相关因素。
本研究是对36个撒哈拉以南非洲国家的二次数据分析，总加权样本为17797名少女和年轻女性。采用多水平逻辑回归模型进行拟合，并报告调整后的优势比（AOR）及95%置信区间（CI），以评估撒哈拉以南非洲地区自变量与意外怀孕之间的关联。
撒哈拉以南非洲地区意外怀孕的合并患病率为30.01，95%CI为（29.38 - 30.74）。在多变量多水平逻辑回归分析中，受过高等教育的少女和年轻女性（AOR = 0.71，95%CI 0.52 - 0.97）、了解现代避孕方法的女性（AOR = 0.86，95%CI 0.75 - 0.98）、了解传统避孕方法的女性（AOR = 0.90，95%CI 0.59 - 0.95）、已婚女性（AOR = 0.80，95%CI 0.73 - 0.88）、来自女户主家庭的女性（AOR = 0.86，95%CI 0.78 - 0.94）意外怀孕的几率较低。而来自中非（AOR = 2.09，95%CI 1.23 - 3.55）、南非（AOR = 5.23，95%CI 2.71 - 10.09）和东非（AOR = 1.07，95%CI 1.07 - 2.66）的少女和年轻女性意外怀孕的几率较高。
撒哈拉以南非洲地区意外怀孕的患病率很高。因此，教育少女和年轻女性并提高她们对计划生育服务的认识至关重要。撒哈拉以南非洲国家的政府以及其他全球和地方利益相关者也应努力确保普遍获得性健康和生殖健康服务，包括计划生育、教育，并将生殖健康纳入国家战略和计划，以减少意外怀孕。
