TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN GHANA

 According to the World Health Organization, "adolescent" and "teenager" are frequently used interchangeably. In this context, "adolescent/teen pregnancy" refers to pregnancy in a female between the ages of 10 and 19 years old. Similarly, in Ghana, adolescent or teenager refers to a person between the ages of 10 and 19 years. Teenage pregnancy is defined in Ghana as becoming pregnant during the adolescent or teen years. 

Teenage pregnancy is one of the most significant societal issues facing the contemporary global community. It plagues both highly developed and developing nations, with developing nations being most affected. Every year, an estimated 21 million girls between the ages of 15 and 19 in developing countries become pregnant, and 12 million of them give birth. There are at least 777 000 births to adolescent girls under 15 years old. The current state of adolescent pregnancy in Ghana is comparable to that of other developing nations. 

Teenagers account for 22.4% of the total population in Ghana, with high rates of teen pregnancy. In 2014, approximately 30.0% of all births registered in Ghana were to adolescent mothers, with the vast majority, 14.0%, being late adolescents. According to other sources, an estimated one-third of births in public hospitals occurred to women younger than 19 years old. The situation is even more dire in rural and small-to-medium sized cities, which are frequently underrepresented in hospital birth statistics. 

Numerous factors have been identified as major contributors to adolescent pregnancy, including societal and traditional norms such as early marriage, childbearing as a measure of maturity and a means to garner societal respect, sexual abuse and living in violent communities, lower level of education, and peer pressure or influence. Others detailed include adolescent sexual behaviors such as unprotected sex and/or lack of contraception use, early sexual debut, frequent sexual encounters, and alcohol consumption. In addition, family-related factors such as divorce or non-intact family structure, a history of maternal and sibling adolescent pregnancy, and a low family economic status have been identified. 

Teenage pregnancy has been associated with stunted academic and intellectual growth, low levels of employable skills, and consequently a low socioeconomic status. As a result, the prevention of child marriage and the reduction of adolescent pregnancies have been the focus of numerous government and non-government organizations for decades.

REFERENCE 

Asare, B.Y.A., Baafi, D., Dwumfour-Asare, B. and Adam, A.R. (2019) Factors Associated with Adolescent Pregnancy in the Sunyani Municipality of Ghana. International Journal of Africa Nursing Sciences, 10, 87-91. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijans.2019.02.001

Aviisah, P.A., Dery, S., Atsu, B.K., Yawson, A., Alotaibi, R.M., Rezk, H.R., et al. (2018) Modern Contraceptive Use among Women of Reproductive Age in Ghana: Analysis of the 2003-2014 Ghana Demographic and Health Surveys. BMC Women’s Health, 18, Article 141.

Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) (2010) Population & Housing Census National Analytical Report. 1-91