Sexual behaviour, contraceptive awareness and use among pregnant adolescents attending clinics in Dar es Salaam

Abstract

Background: Adolescent pregnancy continues to be a problem in Tanzania and the world as a whole. Apart from coming from families with low socioeconomic status many peegrrant adolescents become sexually active much earlier and are not using contraceptives. Objective: This study was performed to assess sexual behaviour, contraceptive awareness and use among primigravida adolescents and compare them to non-adolescent primigravida. Methodology: Study setting: Muhimbili National hospital labour ward and antenatal clinic. Study design: Unmatched case control study Study population: Adolescent primigravida and non-adolescent primigravida. Sample size: 167 cases and 174 controls Study duration: From zs" October 2002 to zs" January 2003. Results: Majority of the adolescents involved in this study were single (57%) compared to non-adolescents (45%), and only few of them (10%) had attained education beyond pnmary school compared to non-adolescents (41 %). Most of the adolescents were coming from families with lower socioeconomic status (79%) compared to non-adolescents (56%). Many adolescents engaged in sexual intercourse much earlier, i.e. below 16 years of age (27%) than controls (7.5%). Contraceptive • awareness was fairly good in adolescents (67%) though the non-adolescents were much

IX ,.' more aware (88.5%). However, contraceptive use was very low in adolescents (18%) compared to 11011- adolescents (32%). Conclusion: The results of this study show that most pregnant adolescents are still / coming from economically deprived families. Low level of education, low contraceptive use and early sexual initiation all contribute to the problem of adolescent pregnancy.