TY - JOUR AU - Maharjan, Muna AU - Thapa, Niresh AU - Maharjan, Narayani AU - Rai, Pabita AU - Pun, Prakash AU - Petrini, Marcia A AU - Yang, Jiong PY - 2019/06/30 Y2 - 2024/03/29 TI - Prevalence of Teenage Pregnancy in A Community Hospital of Rural Nepal: A Cross-Sectional Study JF - Journal of Nepal Medical Association JA - J Nepal Med Assoc VL - 57 IS - 217 SE - Original Article DO - 10.31729/jnma.4083 UR - http://jnma.com.np/jnma/index.php/jnma/article/view/4083 SP - AB - <p><strong>Introduction</strong>: Teenage pregnancy is a public health concern. Maternal and neonatal health outcomes<br>are negatively impacted in teenage pregnancy. The objective of the study is to find the prevalence of<br>teenage pregnancy in a community hospital of rural Nepal.</p><p><br><strong>Methods</strong>: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted at Okhaldhunga Community Hospital,<br>Okhaldhunga, Nepal. Ethical approval was taken from the Institutional Review Committee of the<br>hospital. Data were retrieved from July 2007 to July 2017 from the hospital record books. The total of<br>7054 records of deliveries were reviewed from the hospital records and whole sampling was done.<br>Subgroup analysis was done on basis of age, ethnicity, gravida, para, period of gestation, mode of<br>delivery, maternal or neonatal complications and birth weight. Datas were entered and analyzed<br>using Microsoft Excel.</p><p><br><strong>Results</strong>: The total of 7054 deliveries were conducted in ten years among which 2050 (29.06%) were<br>teenage deliveries at the confidence interval of 95% (28.52% - 29.06%). The highest percentage of<br>teenage delivery was found among Janajati ethnicity of 1056 (53.3%). Amongst teenage delivery, a<br>significant tear was found in 157 (7.9%) as a maternal complication. Perinatal deaths were found in<br>27 (1.4%).&nbsp;</p><p><strong>Conclusions</strong>: The trend of teenage pregnancy remains almost same over ten years in the<br>Okhaldhunga Community Hospital. The overall prevalence of teenage delivery is higher than the<br>national figure. Low birth weight babies, premature delivery, perineal and cervical tears were the<br>common complications. Further health education and awareness programs might help to reduce the<br>teenage pregnancy rate.</p> ER -