Prevalence and Associated Factors of Teenage Pregnancy among Secondary and High School Students in the Tiko Health District, South West Region, Cameroon

Introduction: Teenage pregnancy is a common public health problem with global estimates of 16 million teenage births yearly. It is one of the major causes of maternal and neonatal mortality worldwide with the majority of the cases seen in the low and middle-income countries. Cameroon has recorded the highest fertility rate among teenagers in the entire Central African region as of 2017. Notably, there are limited data available on assessing the awareness and prevention of teenage pregnancies among secondary and high school students in Cameroon. Thus, this study aimed at assessing the prevalence and associated factors of teenage pregnancy among secondary and high school students in the Tiko Health District, South West Region, Cameroon. Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive study was conducted whereby data was collected using self-administered questionnaires from 250 systematically sampled participants from five teaching institutions in the Tiko Health District. Data was analysed using the EPI Info software, version 7.0. The study was carried out from the 15th November 2018 to the 20th of May 2019. Results: We had a total of 250 participants. The prevalence of teenage pregnancy was 5.20% (95% CI 3.34 - 9.1). A total of 47.20% (95% CI: 37.56 - 53.6) of participants were sexually active. Having multiple partners was a major risk factor for teenage pregnancy (AOR: 3.2, 95%CI: 1.75 - 4.03, P-value: 0.03). After adjusting for confounders educational level was a risk factor for the awareness of teenage pregnancy (AOR: 0.54, 95%CI: 0.30 - 0.92, P-value: 0.04). Poor communication skills, social shyness, and lack of knowledge were potential barriers to contraceptive use. Conclusion: Having multiple sexual partners was a risk factor to the prevalence of teenage pregnancy. The majority of adolescents had considerate ideas of teenage pregnancy, its prevention, and its consequences. However, a good number of them lack adequate knowledge of a comprehensive sexuality education. Thus, measures have to be put in place to provide better sex education to adolescents.

Investigating Maternal Mortality at Regina Pacis Hospital Mutengene and the Government Health Centre Mutengene, South West Region, Cameroon

Background: One target under sustainable Development Goal 3 is to reduce the global maternal mortality ratio to less than 70 per 100,000 births, with no country having a maternal mortality rate of more than twice the global average. So there is a need to identify ways to reduce maternal mortality which is a top priority in development of the management of pregnant women and invention of equipment in procedures (caesarian section) to provide a maternal health and increase life survival. Objective: This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and causes of maternal mortality at Regina Pacis Hospital and Government Health Center Mutengene. Method: This study was a retrospective study, where Data from 2007 to 2017 were collected from the hospital files using a checklist, descriptive and inferential statistics were used to analyse the data. Conclusion: From the finding, maternal mortality is at a pace of increase in the Regina Pacis Hospital and Government Health Centre Mutengene and these health facilitiesmay fail to achieve the target of SDG3 by the end of 2030. Since, the overall prevalence of maternal mortality at both study sites was 240 per 100,000 live births at Regina Pacis Hospital and Government Health Center Mutengene from 2007 to 2017, increase education of women of reproductive age on pregnancy care and training of hospital staff in obstetric management and health records documentation.