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Using three indicators to understand the parity-specific contribution of adolescent childbearing to all births

Using three indicators to understand the parity-specific contribution of adolescent childbearing to all births
Using three indicators to understand the parity-specific contribution of adolescent childbearing to all births

Introduction A strong focus on sexual and reproductive health of female adolescents is a key to achieving sustainable development goals, due to the large size of the current cohort in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and adolescents’ biological and social vulnerability. Several indicators of fertility among adolescents are in wide use, but the contribution of adolescent births to all births is poorly understood. We propose and calculate a package of three indicators capturing the contribution of adolescent births to all births, stratified by parity (first and second/higher). Methods We used Demographic and Health Survey data for 30 LMICs and vital registration for two high-income countries (to calculate levels and trends across a range of countries) for three time periods: 1990–1999, 2000–2009 and 2010–2015. The three indicators were calculated overall and by age thresholds (<16, <18 and <20 years) and exact ages, for each country and time point. Patterns of changes in indicators for the three cumulative thresholds over time are described. results In the 30 LMICs, the percentage of all live births occurring to adolescents varied across countries, with a median of 18% for adolescents <20 years. Three countries (Jordan, Indonesia and Rwanda) had levels below 10%; Bangladesh had the highest at 33%. The contribution of adolescent first-order births to all first-order births was high; a median of 49%. Even among second-order and higher-order births, the contribution of adolescent childbearing was appreciable (median of 6%). Over the period under examination, the proportion of adolescent births among all live births declined in the majority of the LMICs. Conclusion These three indicators add to our understanding of the scale of adolescent childbearing and can be used in conjunction with population estimates to assess the absolute need for age-appropriate and parity-appropriate reproductive, maternal and newborn healthcare and to monitor progress in improving young people’s health.

2059-7908
Benova, Lenka
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Neal, Sarah
2b63ebf7-1cf9-423d-80a2-bd99a759f784
Radovich, Emma G.
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Ross, David A.
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Siddiqi, Manahil
3fb43018-ae7b-40e3-b0c5-668f7bb388cd
Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman
35234274-1c30-4a20-8a1b-edb3363321ac
Benova, Lenka
557d19a8-433d-4e9f-aa4b-bdbac6d7da82
Neal, Sarah
2b63ebf7-1cf9-423d-80a2-bd99a759f784
Radovich, Emma G.
9a6a3f1a-fd19-44ab-8e1f-4bf754253ed6
Ross, David A.
94e3ff8a-aca3-43e4-b408-5ad3719de7ef
Siddiqi, Manahil
3fb43018-ae7b-40e3-b0c5-668f7bb388cd
Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman
35234274-1c30-4a20-8a1b-edb3363321ac

Benova, Lenka, Neal, Sarah, Radovich, Emma G., Ross, David A., Siddiqi, Manahil and Chandra-Mouli, Venkatraman (2018) Using three indicators to understand the parity-specific contribution of adolescent childbearing to all births. BMJ Global Health, 3 (6), [e001059]. (doi:10.1136/bmjgh-2018-001059).

Record type: Article

Abstract

Introduction A strong focus on sexual and reproductive health of female adolescents is a key to achieving sustainable development goals, due to the large size of the current cohort in low-income and middle-income countries (LMICs) and adolescents’ biological and social vulnerability. Several indicators of fertility among adolescents are in wide use, but the contribution of adolescent births to all births is poorly understood. We propose and calculate a package of three indicators capturing the contribution of adolescent births to all births, stratified by parity (first and second/higher). Methods We used Demographic and Health Survey data for 30 LMICs and vital registration for two high-income countries (to calculate levels and trends across a range of countries) for three time periods: 1990–1999, 2000–2009 and 2010–2015. The three indicators were calculated overall and by age thresholds (<16, <18 and <20 years) and exact ages, for each country and time point. Patterns of changes in indicators for the three cumulative thresholds over time are described. results In the 30 LMICs, the percentage of all live births occurring to adolescents varied across countries, with a median of 18% for adolescents <20 years. Three countries (Jordan, Indonesia and Rwanda) had levels below 10%; Bangladesh had the highest at 33%. The contribution of adolescent first-order births to all first-order births was high; a median of 49%. Even among second-order and higher-order births, the contribution of adolescent childbearing was appreciable (median of 6%). Over the period under examination, the proportion of adolescent births among all live births declined in the majority of the LMICs. Conclusion These three indicators add to our understanding of the scale of adolescent childbearing and can be used in conjunction with population estimates to assess the absolute need for age-appropriate and parity-appropriate reproductive, maternal and newborn healthcare and to monitor progress in improving young people’s health.

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Accepted/In Press date: 24 September 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 21 November 2018
Published date: 21 November 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 430273
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/430273
ISSN: 2059-7908
PURE UUID: b86ae101-acd3-474d-88db-142fe5b25a12
ORCID for Sarah Neal: ORCID iD orcid.org/0000-0003-1812-7221

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Date deposited: 24 Apr 2019 16:30
Last modified: 18 Mar 2024 03:14

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Contributors

Author: Lenka Benova
Author: Sarah Neal ORCID iD
Author: Emma G. Radovich
Author: David A. Ross
Author: Manahil Siddiqi
Author: Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli

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