Cambria;mso-fareast-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;
mso-bidi-font-family:Cambria;mso-bidi-theme-font:major-latin">1.1.
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">BACKGROUND
TO THE STUDY
It is a known fact that
major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">about 70,000 adolescents in
developing countries such as Nigeria die annually of causes related to childbirth
and pregnancy. Childbirth and pregnancy are a leading cause of death for older
adolescent females in developing countries. Adolescents who become pregnant
tend to be from lower-income households and be nutritionally depleted. Health
problems are more likely if a girl becomes pregnant too soon after reaching
puberty.
Early childbirth is recognized worldwide to have a
profound impact on the well-being and reproductive health of young women, as
well as the overall pace and direction of a country’s development. Early
Early childbirth can derail a young woman’s educational prospects, reduce her
long-term social and economic autonomy, and endanger both her health and that
of her newborn. In Nigeria, one of West Africa largest populated countries,
reducing high levels of adolescent early childbirth is therefore critical to
improving the lives of women and their families and society in general.
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-fareast-font-family:Calibri;mso-fareast-theme-font:
minor-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin;mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";
mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;mso-ansi-language:EN-US;mso-fareast-language:
EN-US;mso-bidi-language:AR-SA">Adolescent reproductive behavior has become a
social problem in many sub-Saharan African countries because it tends to lead
to school dropouts, illegal abortions, child abandonment, increasing number of
adolescent prostitutes, early breakages of marriages, and the growing rate of
HIV/AIDS particularly among young women (Ajayi et al., 1998).
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Women in
northern Nigeria continue to follow the traditional pattern of early marriage,
with a median age of about 15 years. The prevalence of teenage childbearing in
Northern Nigeria is as high as 39% in the North East, 45% in the North West,
and 22% in the North Central (NPC and ICF Macro, 2009). A large proportion of
births to young mothers occur within marriage and early marriage further
contributes to early childbearing (Barker and Rich, 1992).
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Teenage childbirth
rate remains high, and five times as high
in the Northern Nigeria as in the Southern part of the country. The
contribution of adolescents to overall fertility in the North East and North
West regions of the country is about three times as high as that of their
counterparts in the South East and four times that of those in the South West
(NPC, 2002a; NPC and ICF Macro, 2009).
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">Given the
high level of involvement of adolescents in childbearing, and that the
contribution of their fertility to the overall fertility rate in Nigeria has
been enormous and increasing the population of the country over the time, this
research study shall cease to determine the continuing challenges posed to the
society as a result of early childbirth among young teenagers in Northern
Nigeria.
mso-ascii-theme-font:major-latin;mso-hansi-theme-font:major-latin">