Prevalence of teenage pregnancy and associated factors among preparatory and high school students in Wolaita Sodo town, southern Ethiopia: an institution-based cross-sectional study

Objective: To assess the prevalence of teenage pregnancy and associated factors among teenage schoolgirls aged 15-19 years in Wolaita Sodo town, southern Ethiopia.

Design: Cross-sectional survey.

Setting: This study was conducted among teenage girls from preparatory and high schools in Wolaita Sodo town, southern Ethiopia, between 1 April and 30 May 2019.

Participants: 588 (97.8%) of 601 randomly selected teenage schoolgirls aged 15-19 years (selected via a multistage random sampling technique) participated in the study.

Outcome measures: Teenage pregnancy and associated factors.

Results: The prevalence of teenage pregnancy among schoolgirls in Wolaita Sodo town was 14.6% (95% CI 11.9% to 17.7%). The current pregnancy rate was 33.7% (95% CI 23.9% to 44.7%). Having a family history of teenage pregnancy (AOR 3.3; 95% CI 1.3 to 8.4) and access to mass media (AOR 2.5; 95% CI 1.1 to 6.2) were positively associated with teenage pregnancy, while condom use (AOR 0.1; 95% CI 0.03 to 0.5) and knowledge of where to get modern contraceptives (AOR 0.4; 95% CI 0.2 to 0.9) were negatively associated.

Conclusions: The prevalence of teenage pregnancy among schoolgirls in Wolaita Sodo was high. Having a family history of teenage pregnancy and access to mass media were positively associated with teenage pregnancy, whereas reported condom use and knowledge of where to get modern contraceptives were negatively associated with teenage pregnancy among schoolgirls.