Factors associated with Teenage pregnancy in Zambia
Teenage pregnancy is a global problem especially in developing countries. Teenage pregnancy is associated with several social issues: poverty, low education levels, and the lack of awareness about sex and pregnancy prevention. Zambia is not an exception; about three in ten young women aged 15-19 have begun childbearing, that is, they have given birth already or are currently pregnant with their first child. This study investigates factors associated with teenage pregnancy in Zambia using data from the 2007 Zambia Demographic and Health Survey. It is intended to accomplish a research objective which is; to investigate how socio-demographic and socio-economic factors can influence teenage pregnancy in Zambia. After weighing the data set, only 1574 women were valid cases (after selecting cases of age group 15-19.) In this study, data analysis was done using the 2007 ZDHS processed data. The study used Statistical Package for Social Scientists (SPSS) 16.0 to generate frequencies, cross tabulations and binary logistic regression. The present study findings show that 28.5 percent of the teenagers had ever been pregnant and 71.5 percent had never been pregnant and have clearly demonstrated that the major factors that influence teenage pregnancy in Zambia were socio-demographic factors. Socio-economic factors are important determinants of teenage pregnancy but they were not statistically significant. From the findings of this study, the following are the recommendations; there is need for policy makers, community leaders and school curriculum to act towards raising age at marriage to after 19 years and make the methods of contraception accessible to teenagers. Qualitative techniques like focus groups discussions could be helpful in reflecting on the root cause of the problem.
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