ArticleBMC pregnancy and childbirth2021
The hidden burden of adolescent pregnancies in rural Sri Lanka; findings of the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort.
Article in BMC pregnancy and childbirth, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 13 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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Who cites it
13 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- Sexual and reproductive health information and service needs and preferences of adolescents and young adults in Sri Lanka: a systematic review.BMC public health · 2025Pooled it
- Adolescent Pregnancy in South Asia: A Systematic Review of Observational Studies.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Pooled it
- A Decade of Adolescent Pregnancy-Risk Assessment-A Tertiary Center Retrospective Analysis.Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Socioeconomic impacts of adolescent pregnancy on education and future employment in Batticaloa District, Sri Lanka.BMC public health · 2025Article
- Motherhood and mental health of adolescent girls in low- and middle-income countries: A scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Determinants of teenage pregnancy and knowledge about contraception, sexually transmitted diseases among pregnant women: A case-control study in Eastern India.Journal of family medicine and primary care · 2024Article
- Article
- Factors associated with adolescent pregnancy in Maharashtra, India: a mixed-methods study.Sexual and reproductive health matters · 2023Article
- Incorporating early pregnancy mental health screening and management into routine maternal care: experience from the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort (RaPCo), Sri Lanka.BMJ global health · 2023Article
- Adolescent Pregnancy in South Asia: A Pooled Analysis of Demographic and Health Surveys.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Epidemiology of Adverse Outcomes in Teenage Pregnancy-A Northeastern Romanian Tertiary Referral Center.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Barriers and strategies needed to improve maternal health services among pregnant adolescents in Uganda: a qualitative study.Global health action · 2022Article
- Pregnancy Burden: An Integrative Review and Dimensional Analysis of Pregnancy's Hidden Challenges.Journal of midwifery & women's healthReview
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Authors and funding
11 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAdolescent fertility is a main indicator of the Sustainable Developmental Goal (SGD) three. Although Sri Lanka is exemplary in maternal health, the utilization of Sexual and Reproductive Health services (SRH) by adolescents is less documented. We describe the hidden burden, associated biological and psychosocial factors and utilization patterns of pre-conceptional services among pregnant adolescents in rural Sri Lanka.
methodsThe study is based on the baseline assessment of the Rajarata Pregnancy Cohort (RaPCo) in Anuradhapura. Pregnant women newly registered from July to September 2019 were recruited to the study. The period of gestation was confirmed during the second follow-up visit (around 25-28 weeks of gestation) using ultra sound scan data. A history, clinical examination, anthropometric measurements, blood investigations were conducted. Mental health status was assessed using the Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale (EPDS).
resultsBaseline data on gestation was completed by 3,367 pregnant women. Of them, 254 (7.5%) were adolescent pregnancies. Among the primigravida mothers (n = 1037), 22.4% (n = 233) were adolescent pregnancies. Maternal and paternal low education level, being unmarried, and less time since marriage were statistically significant factors associated with adolescent pregnancies (p < 0.05). Contraceptive usage before pregnancy, utilization of pre-conceptional health care services, planning pregnancy and consuming folic acid was significantly low among adolescents (p < 0.001). They also had low body mass index (p < 0.001) and low hemoglobin levels (p = 0.03). Adolescent mothers were less happy of being pregnant (p = 0.006) and had significantly higher levels of anxiety (p = 0.009).
conclusionOne fifth of women in their first pregnancy in this study population are adolescents. Nulli-parous adolescents exert poor social stability and compromised physical and mental health effects. The underutilization and/or unavailability of SRH services is clearly associated with adolescent pregnancies.
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