TITLE:
An Overview of Adolescent Pregnancy in Yaoundé, Cameroon
AUTHORS:
Christiane Jivir Fomu Nsahlai, Claude-Audrey Meguieze, Fatimatouz Zahra’ou, Esther Ngo Um Meka, Eric Nseme Etouckey, Marie Therese Abena Obama
KEYWORDS:
Adolescent, Antenatal Care, Yaoundé
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology,
Vol.12 No.11,
November
23,
2022
ABSTRACT: Background: Adolescent pregnancy is high risk and every area should have data specific to it. We here attempted to
determine the characteristics of adolescent pregnancy in Cameroon, with special
reference to antenatal care (ANC). Materials
and Methods: The present
cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out in four secondary level
hospitals in Yaounde, Cameroon from March to May 2022. Our study
included adolescent pregnant females between ages 10 and 19 who received
prenatal/post-partum care at these facilities. Results: We studied 101
adolescent pregnant females (pregnant or post-partum). The mean age was 17.6 ±
1.3 years. Most of them were single, Christian, had a secondary level of
education, lived in a two-parent home and were from the Central region. ANC was
provided by midwives for most of them but
prenatal work-up was not done most of the time. Overall quality of ANC was considered poor. Conclusions: Adolescent
pregnant females were mainly high-school students and lived at home with
both parents. ANC quality was considered poor. These data may be important to
improve reproductive health care and may be generalizable to some extent.