Teenage Pregnancies in Rwanda
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Introduction
According to WHO, teenage pregnancy is defined as pregnancy in women between the ages of 10 to 19 years (1). UNICEF reports estimate that about 16 million adolescent girls aged 15 to 19 years old, and 2 million young girls aged 10 to 14 years give birth every year (1,2). The rapid increase in teenage pregnancies is more prevalent in middle and low-income families in developing countries. Most of the affected are either below the poverty line or experiencing an economic disadvantage as opposed to their upper-class counterparts. One out of three girls from poor backgrounds is bound to get pregnant by the age of 18 (Yadufashije, Sangano & Samuel, 2017). Similarly, for economically disadvantaged households above the poverty line, one out of five teenage girls gets pregnant before age 18 (2,3).
The Sub-Saharan region is home to almost 1.08 billion people. The area is also the most affected region per capita because most inhabitants under the age of 25 years account for 60% of the general population. Western and Eastern African countries have the highest number of teenage pregnancies (3,4). There are numerous risk factors associated with the rapid increase in adolescent pregnancies. These risk factors are classified as social, economic, and cultural factors. For instance, Rwanda is a developing country with 12.5 million inhabitants. As of 2019, over 50% of the country’s population was under the age of 20 years. A report published after the Rwanda Demographic and Health survey showed an increase in teenage pregnancies from 6, 1% in 2010 to 7, 3% in 2014 (1,5). This increase has affected different aspects of life in Global tropical countries by not only affecting the health of the population but also the economies of affected countries (Ruzibiza, 2020). This may further cause the skyrocketing of maternal and infant mortality, mental health problems, and intergenerational poverty of teenage mother and their children in most impoverished countries (6).
In line with sustainable development goals (SDGs), the international community has adopted policies and recommendations to control and halt the rise in teenage pregnancies collectively in the affected countries (7). Women empowerment policies have already been drafted to counter challenges brought about by social norms, cultures, and taboos that were earlier on used as an excuse for early marriage, furthering early childbearing. Education has also been recommended as a great tool to keep young girls from early marriages in communities that still practice the tradition (8). Moreover, the accessibility of contraception methods on a large scale basis is also being implemented to minimize teenage pregnancies. Studies show that encouraging the use of protection is a more effective way of preventing adolescent pregnancies alongside abstinence (Yadufashije, Sangano & Samuel, 2017).
Despite the varying risk factors, the above strategies recommended by WHO are quite efficient and effective, and have the potential of bringing to an end early childbearing among teenage girls across the world (9, 10). Many of the reports concerning teenage pregnancies that have been published are, however, not entirely accurate. This is because most of the statistics are based on the number of births and miscarriages that have been recorded in hospitals, thereby omitting those that may have been done at home or privately without the knowledge of professionals (Ruzibiza, 2020). More so, abortion is highly criticized, and this means that individuals trying to evade these restrictions would most likely look for other means, posing a higher risk for themselves and the unborn child. Regardless, these still do contribute to unrecorded cases, justifying the imprecisions in the reports (5,10,11).
In summary, teenage pregnancy is a critical issue affecting developing countries – like Rwanda – and one which requires to be addressed speedily to prevent further social, economic, and psychological damage. Still, there is a need to conduct further studies to determine the exact figures of teenage pregnancies and consequently develop more effective solutions to curb the issue. This literature review aims to investigate the risk factors associated with adolescent pregnancies in Rwanda.
Research Question
The purpose of this research is to explore teenage pregnancies in Rwanda and its associated risk factors. Therefore, the research question is as follows. What are the risk factors associated with adolescent pregnancies in Rwanda?
Method
Multiple online databases were used to gather articles and reports containing any useful information regarding the research question. Some of the database sources used include PubMed, Google scholars, Science Direct, and Web of science. The terms used to identify the preferred articles and reports include teenage pregnancy, determinants, risk factors, adolescent pregnancies, Rwanda, and socioeconomic status. The first bunch of articles generated through these criteria was numerous. Relevant searches were identified with regard to the language used, whether the articles were peer-reviewed or not, international recognition, and how recent the articles were (most researchers prefer articles published within the last ten years). This helped to narrow the results down to about 30 articles and reports. The chosen articles were further assessed through comparisons between their abstract and the research outcome.
More information on the abstract and results of the selected reports and articles will be presented in the annex. Also, identified research findings were better analyzed by reviewing six themes, namely the level of education for the teenagers evaluated, parenthood, poverty, temporal marriages, family influence, and socioeconomic status.
References
Ruzibiza, Y. (2020). ‘They are a shame to the community…’ stigma, school attendance, solitude, and resilience among pregnant teenagers and teenage mothers in the Mahama refugee camp, Rwanda. Global Public Health, 1-12.
Yadufashije, D., Sangano, G. B., & Samuel, R. (2017). The Study of Factors Influencing Teenagers Pregnancy in Africa. International Journal of Interdisciplinary Innovative Research & Development (IJIIRD), ISSN.