Adolescent pregnancies pose a risk to young mothers and their babies. In Zambia, one third of 18-year-old girls have given birth. Poverty, low secondary school enrolment, misinformation, and community norms contribute to early childbearing.
Cases of teenage pregnancies and child marriages remain high in Kenya, and specific counties, continue to battle the ever-rising cases of teenage pregnancies.
Teenage pregnancy remains a critical public health issue in developing countries, significantly impacting maternal health. In Kenya, despite an expected decrease in teenage pregnancy rates from 18% in 2014 to 15% in 2022, evidence on its prevalence and associated factors is still limited.
School re-entry for pregnant girls and young mothers is increasingly recognized by African governments as a critical measure to improve the education of marginalized adolescents and mitigate school pushout.
Teen pregnancies are common in Latin America and the Caribbean and pose risks for the mother and her future family. Though it has fallen, the region has the second highest teen pregnancy rate in the world (55 births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19), after Sub-Saharan Africa (World Bank 2023a).
Key messages:
Teenage pregnancy rates in Brazil are amongst the highest in Latin America.
Significant evidence associates teenage pregnancy with school dropout, lower educational outcomes, poor maternal and infant health, and higher poverty rates.
In 2019, there were 21 million pregnancies among adolescents aged 15–19 years globally; close to half of these pregnancies were unintended.
Background: Few studies have examined whether the effect of education on pregnancy and childbearing is due to the academic skills acquired or the social environment that schooling provides.
In sub-Saharan Africa, just over two-thirds of girls complete their primary education and four in ten complete lower secondary education. More needs to be done to improve educational opportunities for girls, which would help end child marriage and boost countries’ economic development.
Adolescent pregnancy is a global public health problem. Numerous approaches for Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) delivery in schools have been implemented around the world.