Demographic determinants of reproductive health outcomes affecting teenagers in Momba District, Tanzania

Abstract

Teen pregnancy poses a serious public health issue in sub-Saharan Africa, impacting the physical, educational, and socio-economic futures of young women. This study aimed to assess the socioeconomic factors influencing pregnancy status and outcomes among adolescents in Momba District, Songwe Region. Backed up by the Social learning and Ecogical system theories a cross-sectional survey involving 349 teens aged 13 to 19 who were currently pregnant or had at least one child was conducted using  semi-structured surveys. Purposive sampling was used to select most affected Wards that was followed by a random sampling  technique that was adopted to select the respondents. Data was analyzed using  SPSS to get descriptives and  Correlation analysis  was used to  explore the relationships between key variables. The study found that majority (55.2%) of teen mothers were between 15 to 17 years of age, and  most of them had secondary education (55.6%). Of all the respondents, 43.3% reported to be divorced and 41.6% reported to be married. 97.7% were unemployed. Age was found to be  moderate negatively correlated with both current pregnancy status (r = -0.335) and previous outcomes (r = -0.529). Higher educational attainment was positively correlated with current pregnancy status (r = 0.306) and past outcomes (r = 0.443). Marital status significantly affected previous pregnancy outcomes (r = 0.448), while employment status influenced earlier outcomes only. It is concluded that teen pregnancy is influence by the interplay between various socio-economic factors such as age, level of  education, marital and employment status. Thus, teenager need to be empowered to make informed choices about sexual health.