Dataset Information

Fertility and contraceptive dynamics amidst COVID-19: who is at greatest risk for unintended pregnancy among a cohort of adolescents and young adults in Nairobi, Kenya?

ABSTRACT:

Objectives

Among youth in Nairobi, we (1) characterised fertility and contraceptive use dynamics by gender; (2) estimated pregnancy prevalence over the pandemic; and (3) assessed factors associated with unintended pandemic pregnancy for young women.

Design

Longitudinal analyses use cohort data collected at three timepoints prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic: June to August 2019 (pre-pandemic), August to October 2020 (12-month follow-up) and April to May 2021 (18-month follow-up).

Setting

Nairobi, Kenya.

Participants

At initial cohort recruitment, eligible youth were aged 15-24 years, unmarried and residing in Nairobi for at least 1 year. Within-timepoint analyses were restricted to participants with survey data per round; trend and prospective analyses were restricted to those with complete data at all three timepoints (n=586 young men, n=589 young women).

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Primary outcomes comprised fertility and contraceptive use for both genders, and pregnancy for young women. Unintended pandemic pregnancy (assessed at 18-month follow-up) was defined as a current or past 6-month pregnancy with intent to delay pregnancy for more than 1 year at 2020 survey.

Results

While fertility intentions remained stable, contraceptive dynamics varied by gender-young men both adopted and discontinued coital-dependent methods, whereas young women adopted coital-dependent or short-acting methods at 12-month follow-up (2020). Current pregnancy was highest at 2020 (4.8%), and approximately 2% at 2019 and 2021. Unintended pandemic pregnancy prevalence was 6.1%, with increased odds for young women recently married (adjusted OR (aOR)=3.79; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.83-7.86); recent contraceptive use was protective against unintended pandemic pregnancy (aOR=0.23; 95% CI 0.11-0.47).

Conclusions

Current pregnancy in Nairobi was highest at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic (2020), and subsided to pre-pandemic levels by 2021 data collection; however, requires further monitoring. New marriages posed considerable risk for unintended pandemic pregnancy. Contraceptive use remains a crucial preventive strategy to averting unintended pregnancy, particularly for married young women.

SUBMITTER: Wood SN

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10163330 | biostudies-literature | 2023 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Fertility and contraceptive dynamics amidst COVID-19: who is at greatest risk for unintended pregnancy among a cohort of adolescents and young adults in Nairobi, Kenya?

Wood Shannon N SN Byrne Meagan E ME Thiongo Mary M Devoto Bianca B Wamue-Ngare Grace G Decker Michele R MR Gichangi Peter P

BMJ open 20230502 5

<h4>Objectives</h4>Among youth in Nairobi, we (1) characterised fertility and contraceptive use dynamics by gender; (2) estimated pregnancy prevalence over the pandemic; and (3) assessed factors associated with unintended pandemic pregnancy for young women.<h4>Design</h4>Longitudinal analyses use cohort data collected at three timepoints prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic: June to August 2019 (pre-pandemic), August to October 2020 (12-month follow-up) and April to May 2021 (18-month follo ...[more]

PMID: 37130679

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Dataset Information

Fertility and contraceptive dynamics amidst COVID-19: who is at greatest risk for unintended pregnancy among a cohort of adolescents and young adults in Nairobi, Kenya?

Objectives

Design

Setting

Participants

Primary and secondary outcome measures

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Fertility and contraceptive dynamics amidst COVID-19: who is at greatest risk for unintended pregnancy among a cohort of adolescents and young adults in Nairobi, Kenya?

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