Objective:
To compare the
prevalence of
contraceptive use among
teenage mothers who were participating, and
teenage mothers who were not participating, in a program in
Jamaica that had been established to deal with the country's serious problem of repeat
pregnancies among
adolescents.
Methods:
A historical cohort design was used to assess the impact that the
Women's Centre of
Jamaica Foundation (WCJF) Programme for
Adolescent Mothers had on
contraceptive use among the
target population of
adolescents 16 years and under
who had experienced a first
live birth in 1994.
Results:
Contraceptive use at
first intercourse was found to be higher among WCJF program participants (44 percent) than among nonparticipants (37 percent), but this difference was not significant (P=0.35).
Contraceptive use after first
live birth was also higher among WCJF program participants (94 percent) than among nonparticipants (86 percent), and this difference was significant (P=0.04).
Contraceptive prevalence at last intercourse (in 1998) did not differ between participants and nonparticipants (both 69 percent). Conclusions.
Contraceptive use among this
population in
Jamaica was highest when the
respondents'
perception of
vulnerability to
pregnancy was most acute, that is, after the first
live birth. All
adolescents, both
males and
females, need to be educated about the importance of sustained and effective use of
contraception in order to reduce the
risk of
unintended pregnancy and
sexually transmitted diseases (AU)