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©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
Teenage pregnancy and the sociodemographic attributes as a major contributor: Findings from an urban referral center in Nepal
Puja Thapa, Pukar Thapa, Dhan Bahadur Shrestha, Pravash Budhathoki, Binod Karki, Bimita Mahat
Puja Thapa, Department of Anesthesiology, Nepalese Army Institute of Health Sciences (NAIHS), Shree Birendra Hospital, Chhauni, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Pukar Thapa, Hepatology Unit (Internal Medicine), National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), Bir Hospital, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Dhan Bahadur Shrestha, Department of Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, Chicago, IL 60608, United States
Pravash Budhathoki, Department of Internal Medicine, Bronxcare Health System, Bronx, NY 10457, United States
Binod Karki, Gastroenterology Unit, Internal Medicine, National Academy of Medical Sciences (NAMS), Bir Hospital, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Bimita Mahat, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kathmandu Medical College, Sinamangal, Kathmandu 44600, Nepal
Author contributions: Thapa P, Thapa P, Karki B, and Mahat B contributed to the conception and design of the study, literature search, and data collection; Shrestha DB and Budhathoki P analyzed and interpreted the data and drafted the manuscript; All authors were involved in revising the manuscript, and have read and approved the manuscript for further processing and publication.
Institutional review board statement: The study protocol was approved by Ethical Review Board of Nepalese Health Research Council and conducted in accordance with the protocol.
Informed consent statement: Informed consent was taken from all respondents meeting inclusion criteria before they were enrolled in the study.
Conflict-of-interest statement: Dr Puja Thapa received financial support from Letten Foundation, Norway for this study. Other authors have nothing to disclose.
Data sharing statement: All available data is analyzed and presented in the study as appropriate.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See:
http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/ Corresponding author: Dhan Bahadur Shrestha, MD, Doctor, Department of Internal Medicine, Mount Sinai Hospital, 1500 South Fairfield Ave, Chicago, IL 60608, United States. med-han75@gmail.com
Received: February 25, 2021
Peer-review started: February 25, 2021
First decision: May 14, 2021
Revised: May 16, 2021
Accepted: August 25, 2021
Article in press: August 25, 2021
Published online: September 30, 2021
Processing time: 214 Days and 18.9 Hours
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
Teenage pregnancy is a global problem with increased prevalence in developing nations. It is associated with various maternal and neonatal complications. Multiple factors including rural residence, low level of education, and lack of contraceptive knowledge are believed to play a role in teenage pregnancy.
Research motivation
Studies regarding the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and various associated factors associated are rare in Nepal. Therefore, our goal was to study the status of teenage pregnancy among patients visiting a tertiary center in the capital city of Nepal.
Research objectives
The study’s objective was to determine the proportion of teenage pregnancy and the effects of various sociodemographic factors on pregnant women visiting the tertiary center of Nepal.
Research methods
We conducted a hospital-based cross-sectional study in a tertiary center from April to August 2017. Pregnant women were interviewed regarding their reproductive history and sociodemographic variables. Before the interview, informed consent was provided, and ethical approval was given from Nepal Health Research Council.
Research results
The prevalence of teenage pregnancy was 12.3%. More than four-fifths of the mothers were married under 20-years-old. Love marriage and first teenage pregnancy increased the odds for subsequent teenage pregnancies. On the other hand, knowledge of family planning methods and first teenage pregnancy lowered the odds of teenage pregnancy.
Research conclusions
Teenage pregnancy was highly present at the tertiary center of Nepal. Teenage pregnancy was associated with marriage at an early age. Increased odds of teenage pregnancy were seen among mothers with low education, lack of knowledge of family planning, and use of contraception.
Research perspectives
Developing nations like Nepal should focus on raising awareness of contraception and improving people's education and awareness to better tackle the adverse maternal and neonatal effects caused by teenage pregnancy.
