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Trends in adolescent first births in five countries in Latin America and the Caribbean: disaggregated data from demographic and health surveys
Authors: Sarah Neal, Chloe Harvey, Venkatraman Chandra-Mouli, Sonja Caffe, and Alma Virginia Camacho
Source: Reproductive Health, 15(1):146; DOI: 10.1186/s12978-018-0578-4
Topic(s): Maternal health
Reproductive health
Sexual health
Youth
Country: Latin American/Caribbean
  Multiple L.A./Caribbean Countries
  Colombia
  Bolivia
  Haiti
  Peru
  Dominican Republic
Published: AUG 2018
Abstract: Background Adolescents in the Latin American and Caribbean region continue to experience poor reproductive health outcomes, including high rates of first birth before the age of 20 years. Aggregate national level data fails to identify groups where progress is particularly poor. This paper explores how trends in adolescent births have changed over time in five countries (Bolivia, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Haiti, and Peru) using data disaggregated by adolescent age group, wealth and urban / rural residence. Methods The study draws on Demographic and Health Survey data from five countries where three surveys are available since 1990, with the most recent after 2006. It examines trends in adolescent births by wealth status and urban/rural residence. Results There has been little progress in reducing adolescent first births over the last two decades in these countries. Adolescent first births continue to be more common among the poorest and rural residents, and births among the youngest age-group (
Web: https://reproductive-health-journal.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12978-018-0578-4