Abstinence from sexual practice among youth not only prevents infections, HIV and AIDS, and unplanned pregnancies but also promotes healthy sexual practices and positive youth development. The study aims to explore and describe interventions to improve healthy sexual practices among youth in Vhembe district, Limpopo province. The study utilized a descriptive cross-sectional design with a sample size of 531 determined by the selected formular through probability, simple random technique. Using structured questionnaires for data collection from the participants. Validity was ensured and content and face validity. Reliability was ensured. Data was analysed using SPSS version 28.0. Ethical consideration was ensured during the study. The study results showed that 57.4% of the respondents indicated that they do not discuss their choice of contraceptive with their sexual partner, 80.6% of the respondents indicated that unplanned pregnancy can be prevented by supplying contraceptives programs at clinics and school while 83.2% of the respondents revealed that programs linked with contraceptive services can help prevent unplanned pregnancy. The study highlights the lack of contraceptive choice discussions among sexual partners, exposing them to risks of STIs, HIV and AIDS, and teen pregnancy, urging for improved healthcare access.
L\'abstinence sexuelle chez les jeunes prévient non seulement les infections, le VIH et le SIDA et les grossesses non planifiées, mais favorise également des pratiques sexuelles saines et un développement positif des jeunes. L\'étude vise à explorer et à décrire les interventions visant à améliorer les pratiques sexuelles saines chez les jeunes du district de Vhembe, province du Limpopo. L\'étude a utilisé une conception transversale descriptive avec une taille d\'échantillon de 531 personnes déterminée par le formulaire sélectionné par le biais d\'une technique aléatoire simple et probabiliste. Utilisation de questionnaires structurés pour la collecte de données auprès des participants. La validité a été assurée ainsi que la validité du contenu et de l\'apparence. La fiabilité était assurée. Les données ont été analysées à l\'aide de SPSS version 28.0. Une considération éthique a été assurée au cours de l’étude. Les résultats de l\'étude ont montré que 57,4 % des personnes interrogées ont indiqué qu\'elles ne discutaient pas de leur choix de contraceptif avec leur partenaire sexuel, 80,6 % des personnes interrogées ont indiqué que les grossesses non planifiées peuvent être évitées en proposant des programmes de contraception dans les cliniques et les écoles, tandis que 83,2 % des personnes interrogées ont indiqué qu\'elles ne discutaient pas de leur choix de contraceptif avec leur partenaire sexuel. les personnes interrogées ont révélé que les programmes liés aux services de contraception peuvent aider à prévenir les grossesses non planifiées. L\'étude souligne le manque de discussions sur le choix de la contraception entre les partenaires sexuels, les exposant aux risques d\'IST, de VIH et de SIDA et de grossesse chez les adolescentes, et appelle à un meilleur accès aux soins de santé.

UNASSIGNED: Teenage pregnancy (pregnancy among girls aged 13-19 years) is prevalent in Uganda but data about the associated factors are limited.
UNASSIGNED: To determine the prevalence and factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Buliisa district, western Uganda. We hypothesized that fertility awareness is associated with reduced likelihood of teenage pregnancy.
UNASSIGNED: In this cross-sectional study, we included girls aged 15-19 years and collected data using a structured questionnaire. The modified Poisson regression analysis was used to determine the association between fertility awareness and teenage pregnancy, adjusted for confounders, reported using adjusted prevalence risk ratio (aPR) and 95% confidence interval (CI).
UNASSIGNED: Of 246 teenagers, the prevalence of teenage pregnancy was 41.5% while fertility awareness was 56.7%. The age category 18-19 years (aPR, 3.44; 95% CI, 2.16-5.47), fertility awareness (aPR, 1.80; 95%CI, 1.30-2.51) and Muslim faith (aPR, 1.37; 95%CI, 1.04-1.80) were associated with increased likelihood of teenage pregnancy. Living with a father (aPR, 0.61; 95%CI, 0.48-0.76), mother (aPR, 0.65; 95%CI, 0.524-0.81), or both parents (aPR, 0.57; 95% CI, 0.43-0.76) was associated with a reduced likelihood of teenage pregnancy.
UNASSIGNED: The prevalence of teenage pregnancy in Bulisa district is high. There is a need to target teenagers with correct fertility information, including the engagement of parents and religious leaders.

UNASSIGNED: Adolescent pregnancy is defined as pregnancy occurring in young women between the ages of 10 and 19 years. Adolescent pregnancies, which are among the social healthcare concerns in developed and developing countries, have negative effects on maternal and infant health. Pregnancy in adolescence puts the health of both the mother and child at risk, as adolescent pregnancies have higher rates of eclampsia, systemic infection, low birth weight, and preterm delivery compared to other pregnancies. In this study, the effects of education level, smoking, and marital status on maternal and foetal outcomes in adolescent pregnancies were evaluated.
UNASSIGNED: The records of a total of 960 pregnant women (480 pregnant adolescents aged 15-19 years and 480 pregnant adult women aged 20-26 years) were examined retrospectively. The demographic data of the groups and maternal and foetal outcomes of the pregnancies were compared. A logistic regression model was established as a statistical method for reducing confounding effects.
UNASSIGNED: Unmarried women were statistically significantly more prevalent in the adolescent group (38.3% vs. 7.3%). Among the considered risk factors, preeclampsia (2.9% vs. 0.8%) and smoking (29.8% vs. 9.8%) were statistically significantly more common in the adolescent group. When the groups were compared in terms of risk factors in pregnancy, it was found that pregnancy in adolescence was associated with a 3.04-fold higher risk of smoking, 5.25-fold higher risk of being unmarried, 3.50-fold higher risk of preeclampsia, and 1.70-fold higher risk of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR).
UNASSIGNED: This study demonstrates an increased risk of preeclampsia, IUGR, and smoking during pregnancy in adolescent pregnant women. These findings can be used to identify adolescent pregnancies requiring specific assistance and to take measures to reduce the probability of adverse outcomes.
In this study, we examine the risks of adolescent pregnancies. Adolescent pregnancy is a public health problem, and it is more common in underdeveloped or developing countries. We believe that non-governmental organisations and governments should take precautions regarding adolescent pregnancies and protect this legally vulnerable sociodemographic group from pregnancy. For healthier and more conscientious pregnancy experiences, mothers must be of appropriate age, having passed the period of adolescence. Adolescent pregnancies, which come with many risks, and especially risks of preeclampsia, premature birth, and maternal death, should be minimised or prevented.

BACKGROUND: The natural and best approach to give newborns the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development is through breast feeding. Breastfeeding rates fall more sharply with time for mothers under the age of 20 years.
OBJECTIVE: This study sought to explore the challenges experienced by adolescent mothers who visit the department of obstetrics and gynaecology of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital in Ghana.
METHODS: This study employed a qualitative phenomenology design and collected data from adolescent mothers. Data were gathered with the aid of a semistructured in-depth interview guide from 13 breastfeeding adolescent mothers. Data for the study were analysed using content analysis. The study was conducted at the obstetrics and gynaecology department of Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Ghana.
RESULTS: Two major themes were generated from the study to be the challenges that confront adolescent breastfeeding mothers, and they are maternal factors of breastfeeding barriers and societal factors of breastfeeding barriers. Subcategories were generated for both themes during the process.
CONCLUSIONS: Training of pregnant adolescents during antenatal care visits on how to manage the inability to lactate, breastfeeding stress, painful and sore nipple, engorged breast, stigma from society will lessen their burden. Furthermore, training close family members and friends on how to be kind and support adolescent mothers during breast feeding is important. In-service training should be organised for health workers to enhance their knowledge and practice of approaching and guiding adolescent mothers on effective breast feeding and the provision of cubicles in public places where adolescent mothers can comfortably breastfeed.

BACKGROUND: Teenage pregnancies are a global concern. Malawi is one of the countries with the highest teenage pregnancy rates despite government efforts to reverse the situation and yet studies on determinants of teenage pregnancy are rare with some factors remaining unexplored. Therefore, this study aimed to identify factors associated with teenage pregnancies in Malawi.
METHODS: This was a community-based case-control study that used secondary data from the 2015-16 Malawi Demographic and Health Survey from all 28 districts of Malawi. The study population comprised women aged 20-24 who participated in the survey. The study ran from September 2021 to October 2022 and used a sample size of 3,435 participants who were all women aged 20-24 in the dataset who met the inclusion criteria. Data were analysed using Stata 16 software. Logistic regression analyses were used to determine factors. Variables with a P value of < 0.1 in the univariable analysis were included in the multivariable analyses, where statistical significance was obtained at a P value < 0. 05.
RESULTS: Data on 3435 participants were analysed. In multivariable analyses: no teenage marriage (AOR 0.13); secondary education (AOR 0.26); higher education (AOR 0.39); richest category of wealth index (AOR 0.51), use of contraception (AOR 3.08), domestic violence by father or mother (AOR 0.37) were found to be significant factors.
CONCLUSIONS: This study identified determinants of teenage pregnancy. The government has to sustain and expand initiatives that increase protection from teenage pregnancy, reinforce the implementation of amended marriage legislation, introduce policies to improve the socioeconomic status of vulnerable girls and increase contraceptive use among adolescent girls before their first pregnancy. Further research is also recommended to resolve inconclusive results.

UNASSIGNED: The Family Nurse Partnership is an intensive home visiting programme for adolescent mothers. We aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of the Family Nurse Partnership on outcomes up to age 7 using national administrative data.
UNASSIGNED: We created a linked cohort of all mothers aged 13-19 using data from health, educational and children\'s social care and defined mothers enrolled in the Family Nurse Partnership or not using Family Nurse Partnership system data. Propensity scores were used to create matched groups for analysis.
UNASSIGNED: One hundred and thirty-six local authorities in England with active Family Nurse Partnership sites between 2010 and 2017.
UNASSIGNED: Mothers aged 13-19 at last menstrual period with live births between April 2010 and March 2019, living in a Family Nurse Partnership catchment area and their firstborn child(ren).
UNASSIGNED: The Family Nurse Partnership includes up to 64 home visits by a family nurse from early pregnancy until the child\'s second birthday and is combined with usual health and social care. Controls received usual health and social care.
UNASSIGNED: Indicators of child maltreatment (hospital admissions for injury/maltreatment, referral to social care services); child health and development (hospital utilisation and education) outcomes and maternal hospital utilisation and educational outcomes up to 7 years following birth.
UNASSIGNED: Family Nurse Partnership Information System, Hospital Episode Statistics, National Pupil Database.
UNASSIGNED: Of 110,520 eligible mothers, 25,680 (23.2%) were enrolled in the Family Nurse Partnership. Enrolment rates varied across 122 sites (range: 11-68%). Areas with more eligible mothers had lower enrolment rates. Enrolment was higher among mothers aged 13-15 (52%), than 18-19 year-olds (21%). Indicators of child maltreatment: we found no evidence of an association between the Family Nurse Partnership and indicators of child maltreatment, except for an increased rate of unplanned admissions for maltreatment/injury-related diagnoses up to age 2 for children born to Family Nurse Partnership mothers (6.6% vs. 5.7%, relative risk 1.15; 95% confidence interval 1.07 to 1.24). Child health and developmental outcomes: there was weak evidence that children born to Family Nurse Partnership mothers were more likely to achieve a Good Level of Development at age 5 (57.5% vs. 55.4%, relative risk 1.05; 95% confidence interval 1.00 to 1.09). Maternal outcomes: There was some evidence that Family Nurse Partnership mothers were less likely to have a subsequent delivery within 18 months of the index birth (8.4% vs. 9.3%, relative risk 0.92; 95% confidence interval 0.88 to 0.97). Younger and more vulnerable mothers received higher numbers of visits and were more likely to achieve fidelity targets. Meeting the fidelity targets was associated with some outcomes.
UNASSIGNED: Bias by indication and variation in the intervention and usual care over time and between areas may have limited our ability to detect effects. Multiple testing may have led to spurious, significant results.
UNASSIGNED: This study supports findings from evaluations of the Family Nurse Partnership showing no evidence of benefit for maltreatment outcomes measured in administrative data. Amongst all the outcomes measured, we found weak evidence that the Family Nurse Partnership was associated with improvements in child development at school entry, a reduction in rapid repeat pregnancies and evidence of increased healthcare-seeking in the mother and child.
UNASSIGNED: Future evaluations should capture better measures of Family Nurse Partnership interventions and usual care, more information on maternal risk factors and additional outcomes relating to maternal well-being.
UNASSIGNED: The study is registered as NIHR CRN Portfolio (42900).
UNASSIGNED: This award was funded by the National Institute of Health and Care Research (NIHR) Health and Social Care Delivery Research programme (NIHR award ref: 17/99/19) and is published in full in Health and Social Care Delivery Research; Vol. 12, No. 11. See the NIHR Funding and Awards website for further award information.
The Family Nurse Partnership is an intensive home visiting service that offers first-time young mothers up to 64 visits with a family nurse from pregnancy to their child’s second birthday. The Family Nurse Partnership aims to improve birth outcomes, child health and development and promote economic self-sufficiency among young mothers. Previous research in England found no differences in birthweight, maternal smoking, repeat pregnancies or accident and emergency attendances between mothers who did or did not take part in the Family Nurse Partnership. However, children in the Family Nurse Partnership group had better measures of development at school age. We aimed to add to the evidence from earlier studies, by using electronic records that are routinely collected as part of health, education and social care services, to compare outcomes for around 26,000 mothers enrolled in the Family Nurse Partnership between 2010 and 2019 with similar mothers who were not enrolled. This study showed that around one in four mothers who were eligible for the programme were enrolled in the Family Nurse Partnership, and family nurses gave priority to mothers who were younger, more deprived or who had other markers of vulnerability (e.g. a history of substance misuse violence, self-harm or mental health conditions). We found no evidence of a difference in indicators of child maltreatment between mothers who were enrolled in the Family Nurse Partnership and those who were not enrolled, but we found weak evidence to suggest that children born to mothers enrolled in the Family Nurse Partnership were more likely to achieve a Good Level of Development at school entry (age 5). We also saw that mothers enrolled in the Family Nurse Partnership were less likely than those who were not enrolled to have their next child within 18 months of their first child. More research is needed to understand which elements of intensive home visiting services work best, for whom and when. This will help inform decisions about whether it is better to offer highly intensive services for a small portion of the target population or to extend and enhance existing universal health visiting services to better support all adolescent mothers.

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed methods study was to examine parenting outcomes and experiences over time among marginalized adolescent mothers enrolled in randomized clinical trials (RCT) between 2002 and 2016 testing Minding the Baby® (MTB), an early home visiting program. The quantitative phase examined associations between measures of maternal experiences and parenting outcomes from 71 participants 2-8 years since RCT completion. MTB mothers reported less hostile parenting and fewer child behavior problems. The sequential qualitative phase involved interviews with a subsample (n = 31) and revealed six themes about their personal and parenting maturation. Through integration of quantitative and qualitative data, we generated metainferences, revealing a nuanced understanding of participants\' experiences. Integrated findings revealed the complex personal and parenting experiences among former adolescent mothers during their developmental phases of emerging and early adulthood. Findings inform clinical and research approaches to promote personal growth and positive parenting outcomes over time among women who began childbearing in adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this study is to explore adolescent pregnant women related to their pregnancy experience about mental health needs during pregnancy for the prevention of depression during pregnancy.
METHODS: This research is a qualitative study design with a phenomenological approach. Data collection using interviews (in-depth interviews). This study involved 18 participants consisting of 12 pregnant women aged 15-19 years and 6 midwives who work at the health center. The criteria for informants of pregnant women are pregnant with Trimester I to III, age 15-19 years and not experiencing complications of pregnancy.
RESULTS: Based on interviews conducted with informants, five themes were obtained about the experiences and needs of pregnant women in adolescence. These themes are (1). Risk of depression, (2). Social and family support needs, (3). Needs of mental health services, (4). Obstacles for midwives in providing mental health services, and (5). needs of mental health information media.
CONCLUSIONS: Five needs of teenage pregnant women are factors that can support mental health to prevent depression during pregnancy.

BACKGROUND: Globally, depression is a leading cause of disease-related disability among women. In low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs), the prevalence rate of antepartum depression is estimated to range between 15% and 57% and even higher in adolescent antepartum women. Although a number of studies have shown that depression is common in adolescent pregnancies and has a prevalence rate between 28% and 67% among adolescent mothers, there currently exists no literature on depression among adolescent pregnant women in Ghana. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of antepartum depression and identify the factors associated with it among pregnant adolescent women.
METHODS: A quantitative cross-sectional study design was adopted by randomly recruiting 220 adolescent pregnant women visiting antenatal clinics in five selected health facilities in five communities in the Assin North District of Ghana. Data were collected using the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Data analysis was performed using Stata version 14. Both descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. A chi-square analysis was conducted to identify the association between independent and dependent variables. A multivariate logistic regression analysis was carried out to identify the independent variables that were significantly associated with the dependent variable. In all analyses, p-values ≤ 0.05 were deemed statistically significant at a 95% confidence interval.
RESULTS: The results indicated prevalence of depression was 38.6% using the EPDS cut-off ≥ 13. Respondents who were cohabiting were less likely to experiencing antepartum depression compared to those who were single (AOR = 0.36, 95% CI: 0.20-0.64, p = 0.001). Also, Respondents who had completed Junior High School had a lower likelihood of experiencing antepartum depression compared to those who had no formal education (AOR = 0.19, 95% CI: 0.05-0.76, p = 0.019). Respondents who perceived pregnancy-related items to be costly had higher odds of experiencing antepartum depression (AOR = 2.05, 95% CI: 1.02-4.12, p = 0.042). Lastly, adolescent pregnant women who reported that pregnancy-related items are costly were likely to experience antepartum depression compared to those who did not report such costs (AOR = 2.12, 95% CI: 1.20-3.75, p < 0.001).
CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study highlight the importance of a multi-pronged strategy for combating antepartum depression in adolescents and improving the overall health and well-being of pregnant adolescents. Considering that adolescence is a transitional period occasioned by several bio-psycho-social challenges, setting up systems to ensure that young girls are motivated and supported to stay in school will enhance their economic prospects and improve their standards of life while providing psycho-social support will benefit their health and general well-being.

OBJECTIVE: The Chepang people, an indigenous ethnic group in Nepal, experience substantial marginalization and socioeconomic disadvantages, making their communities among the most vulnerable in the region. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and factors associated with adolescent pregnancy in the Chepang communities of Raksirang Rural Municipality, Makwanpur District, Bagmati Province, Nepal.
METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted from October 2022 to April 2023 among 231 Chepang women selected using simple random sampling from Raksirang Rural Municipality. A semi-structured questionnaire was used for interviewing the mothers. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were performed, using odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CIs). Variables with a variation inflation factor of more than 2 and a p-value of more than 0.25 were excluded from the final model.
RESULTS: The study revealed that the prevalence rate of adolescent pregnancy among Chepang women was 71.4% (95% CI, 65.14 to 77.16). A large percentage of participants (72.7%) were married before the age of 18 years. Poor knowledge of adolescent pregnancy (adjusted odds ratio [aOR], 10.3; 95% CI, 8.42 to 14.87), unplanned pregnancy (aOR, 13.3; 95% CI, 10.76 to 19.2), and lack of sex education (aOR, 6.57; 95% CI, 3.85 to 11.27) were significantly associated with adolescent pregnancy.
CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of adolescent pregnancy among the Chepang community was high. These findings highlighted the importance of raising awareness about the potential consequences of adolescent pregnancy and implementing comprehensive sexuality education programs for preventing adolescent pregnancies within this community.