A review of teenage pregnancy research in Malaysia
- Author:
Mohd Azri Mohd Suan
;
Adibah Hanim Ismail
;
Haliza Ghazali,
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Adolescent;
contraception;
Malaysia;
teen pregnancy;
unmarried
- MeSH:
Pregnancy in Adolescence
- From:
The Medical Journal of Malaysia
2015;70(4):214-219
- CountryMalaysia
- Language:English
-
Abstract:
Objective: To summarise the published research on teenage
pregnancy in Malaysia, discuss the impact of the findings on
clinical practice, and identify gaps in teenage pregnancy
research in Malaysia.
Methods: There were 31 articles related to teen pregnancy
found after searching a database dedicated to indexing all
original clinical research data published in Malaysia from
year 2000 to 2014. Twenty-seven articles (including reports
from the National Obstetrics Registry) were selected and
reviewed on the basis of clinical relevance and future
research implications. This literature review has been
divided into eight sections: epidemiology, age at first
marriage, adolescent fertility rate, unmarried childbearing,
risk factors, maternal risks and neonatal outcome, future
plan after delivery, and contraceptive use.
Results: More than 19,000 births to teenage mothers were
recorded each year between 2009 and 2011. Adolescent
fertility rates were recorded at 6 births per 1000 women ages
15–19 years in 2013. Many of these births were from unwed
pregnancies, which accounted for 1.99% of total deliveries.
A majority of young mothers were willing to take care of their
baby, although some of them planned to put their baby up
for adoption. Risk factors for teenage pregnancy were found
to be similar to those published in studies worldwide.
Conclusion: More research is needed to better understand
the issue of teen pregnancy. For the best results,
collaborative studies among nationwide hospitals and
institutions should be the way forward.
- Full text:P020150908388128569815.pdf
