Experience of Adolescent Mothers During Pregnancy: A Scoping Review
Background: Every year, around 14 million women and girls aged 15 to 19 (both married and unmarried) give birth. This age group might lead to negative outcomes of pregnancy and childbirth. This scoping review aimed to identify the outcomes of adolescent pregnancy and its contributing factors. Subjects and Method: A scoping review method was conducted in eight stages including (1) Identification of study problems; (2) Determining priority problem and study question; (3) Determining framework; (4) Literature searching; (5) Article selection; (6) Critical appraisal; (7) Data extraction; and (8) Mapping. The research question was identified using population, exposure, and outcome(s) (PEOS) framework. The search included Wiley Online Library, EBSCO, ProQuest, and PubMed databases. The inclusion criteria were English-language and full-text articles published between 2009 and 2019. A total of 307 articles were obtained by the searched database. After the review process, seven articles were eligible for this review. The data were reported by the PRISMA flow chart. Results: Six articles from developing countries (Brazil, Mexico, Zambia, Malawi, and Romania) and one report from developed countries (Australia) met the inclusion criteria with qualitative, quantitative (cross-sectional), and descriptive studies. The existing studies stated that adolescent pregnancy had adverse effects on both mother and babies’ health and well-being. Young maternal age is associated with low parity, lack of prenatal care, premature, and low birth weight. Factors contributed to the increased adolescent pregnancy rate were early sexual initiation, low use of contraception, low educational level, low socioeconomic status, inadequate knowledge about sexual and reproductive health, and gender disparity. Conclusion: Young maternal age contributes to adverse pregnancy outcomes of both mothers and babies. Early sexual health education and health promotion on teenage girls may reduce the risk of adolescent pregnancy rates. Keywords: adolescent pregnancy, birth outcome, maternal age Correspondence: Sumarni. Universitas ‘Aisyiyah Yogyakarta. Jl. Siliwangi (Ringroad Barat) No. 63, Nogotirto, Gamping, Sleman, Yogyakarta, 55292. Email: [email protected]. Mobile: +6282346354512. DOI: https://doi.org/10.26911/the7thicph.02.28