Understanding the socio-demographic and programmatic factors associated with adolescent motherhood and its association with child undernutrition in Bangladesh

• Published in: BMC public health 2024-08, Vol.24 (1), p.2200-13, Article 2200
• Main Authors: Hossain, Md Alamgir, Das, Novel Chandra, Tariqujjaman, Md, Siddique, Abu Bakkar, Chandrima, Rubaiya Matin, Uddin, Md Fakhar, Islam, S M Hasibul, Sayeed, Abu, Ahmed, Anisuddin, Arifeen, Shams El, Mahmood, Hassan Rushekh, Rahman, Ahmed Ehsanur, Hossain, Aniqa Tasnim
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescent motherhood; Adolescent mothers; Adolescents; Adult; Age; Bangladesh; Bangladesh - epidemiology; Bivariate analysis; Body weight; Child; Child Nutrition Disorders - epidemiology; Child undernutrition; Child, Preschool; Childbirth; Childbirth & labor; Children; Complications and side effects; Demographic aspects; Demographics; Demography; Economic aspects; Female; First childbirth; Girls; Health aspects; Health care disparities; Health Surveys; Humans; Infant; Literature reviews; Male; Malnutrition; Malnutrition in children; Mortality; Motherhood; Mothers - psychology; Mothers - statistics & numerical data; Pregnancy; Pregnancy in Adolescence - statistics & numerical data; Prevention; Programmatic gaps; Reproductive health; Risk factors; Sexual behavior; Sexual health; Social aspects; Sociodemographic Factors; Socioeconomic Factors; Surveys; Teenage mothers; Teenage parents; Teenage pregnancy; Teenagers; Thinness - epidemiology; Undernutrition; Underweight; World health; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1471-2458; 1471-2458
• DOI: 10.1186/s12889-024-19355-3

Worldwide, a significant number of girls become mothers during adolescence. In Bangladesh, adolescent childbirth is highly prevalent and has adverse effects on children's health and undernutrition. We aimed to identify the relationship between the undernutrition of children and adolescent motherhood, the factors associated with adolescent mothers' age at first birth, and to examine the programmatic factors and gaps influencing children's undernutrition in Bangladesh. We analysed the 'Bangladesh Demographic and Health Survey' BDHS-17-18 data and desk review. To examine the factors associated with adolescent motherhood and its impact on child undernutrition, data from 7,643 mother-child pairs were selected. Child stunting, wasting, and underweight were measured according to the World Health Organisation (WHO) median growth guidelines based on z-scores - 2. Univariate, bivariate, simple, and multiple logistic regressions were used for analyse. We followed the systematic procedures for the literature review. Approximately, 89% of adolescents aged ≤ 19 years were married and 71% of them gave their first childbirth. Children of adolescent mothers (≤ 19 years) were significantly 1.68 times more wasted (aOR: 1.68; 95% CI: 1.08 to 2.64), 1.37 times more underweight (aOR: 1.37; 95% CI: 1.01 to 1.86) and either form 1.32 times more stunting, wasting or underweight (aOR:1.32; 95% Cl: 1.05 to 1.66) compared to the children of adult mothers (> 19 years) after adjusting potential confounders. The factors associated with mothers' first childbirth during adolescence were the age gap between husband and wife 5-10 years (aOR: 1.81; 95% Cl: 1.57-2.10) and age gap > 10 years (aOR: 2.41; 95% Cl: 1.96-2.97) compared with the age group