Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2018 Sep 25;4(1):1-18.
doi: 10.1080/23311886.2018.1514688. eCollection 2018.

Understanding premarital pregnancies among adolescents and young women in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Abdramane Bassiahi Soura  1 , Yempabou Bruno Lankoande  2 , Souleymane Sanogo  1 , Yacouba Compaore  2 , Leigh Senderowicz  3
Affiliations

Understanding premarital pregnancies among adolescents and young women in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso

Abdramane Bassiahi Soura et al. Cogent Soc Sci. .

Abstract

In developing countries, young women between 15 and 24 years of age account for more than 40% of unsafe abortions due to the high number of unwanted and/or out-of-wedlock pregnancies. However, much about the profile of adolescents and young women who usually experience premarital pregnancies remains unknown. This study sought to understand the risk of pregnancy before marriage among adolescents and young women in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. By using longitudinal data from a demographic surveillance system, we tested the explanatory power of two theoretical assumptions on premarital childbearing in sub-Saharan Africa, which assumptions are the cultural inheritance model and the social capital model. The results confirmed the explanatory power of the cultural inheritance model on the one hand and partially confirmed the power of the social capital model on the other hand. These results highlight the need for a multipronged approach to sexual and reproductive health for young people. Efforts against premarital pregnancies among adolescents and young women would be more effective if they were based on participatory approaches, incorporating actions at both community and institutional levels, as suggested by the recent Global Accelerated Action for the Health of Adolescents logical framework.

Keywords: Ouagadougou; adolescents; pregnancy; premarital; young women.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Adjamagbo A., Antoine P., & Delaunay V. (2004). Naissances prémaritales au Sénégal: Confrontation de modèles urbain et rural. Cahiers québécois de démographie, 33(2), 239–272. doi:10.7202/011206ar - DOI
    1. Adjamagbo A., & Kone P. M. (2013). Situations relationnelles et gestion des grossesses non prévues à Dakar. Population, 68(1), 67–96. doi:10.3917/popu.1301.0067 - DOI
    1. Adohinzin C. C. Y., Berthé A., Méda N., Belem A. M. G., Ouédraogo G. A., Nacro B., … Sombié I. (2016). Connaissances et pratiques contraceptives chez les jeunes burkinabè de 15 à 24 ans. Annales des Sciences de la Santé, 1(9), 35–59.
    1. ADVANCE FAMILY PLANNING (AFP) (2016). De hauts dirigeants s’engagent à intégrer l’éducation de santé sexuelle et reproductive au Burkina. Baltimore: AFP.
    1. AGENCE D’INFORMATION DU BURKINA (AIB) (2017). Les grossesses précoces inquiètent les autorités du Kadiogo . Press article published on December 28th, 2017. Retrieved January3, 2018 http://www.aib.bf/m-11668-les-grossesses-precoces-inquietent-les-autorit...

LinkOut - more resources