TEENAGE PREGNANCY - CONTRACEPTIVE USE AND NONUSE

A study, based on person-to-person interview with a cohort of sequenti al pregnant teenagers using a structured questionnaire, was undertaken to examine the socio-demographic characteristics of teenagers opting for childbirth and termination of pregnancy, to ascertain whether the pregnancy was intended, and to assess the pattern of contraceptive use and non-use. The response rate was 80.3 per cent (269/335). It was fo und that teenagers opting for termination differ significantly from th ose choosing childbirth. Compared with the latter, the former were mor e likely to be still in full time education, and living with their par ents(s) in less overcrowded households at the time they became pregnan t. Moreover, they tended to leave school later, aged 17 and over. Teen agers opting for termination were also significantly more likely than those choosing childbirth to report that the pregnancy was unplanned, twice as likely to deny failure to use contraceptives around the time of conception, and three times as likely to attribute contraceptive me thod failure as the main reason for unplanned pregnancy. It was furthe r shown that about a fifth of the teenagers had never used any form of contraception, with the younger teenagers being five times as likely to report no contraceptive use as the older teenagers. For those who h ad used contraceptives at some time, it was observed that oral contrac eptive pills and condoms were the two most preferred methods of contra ception, but only seven per cent had ever used the postcoital pill. Wh en asked about their views of contraceptive services, slightly over ha lf (136/269) of the teenagers reported that they would not discuss con traception with their doctor, and 42.0 per cent (113/269) reported the y were afraid that their personal details would not remain confidentia l by going to a clinic.