Socio-demographic characteristics of adolescent post-abortion patients in Blantyre, Malawi.

BACKGROUND Unsafe sex, unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion are some of the emerging adolescent reproductive health challenges in Malawi. OBJECTIVES To study socio-demographic characteristics of adolescent post-abortion patients and that of their male partners, with the aim of better understanding the determinants of adolescent fertility in Malawi, thus facilitating design of appropriate intervention strategies. DESIGN A descriptive, cross-sectional study. SETTING The Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital, Blantyre, Malawi. SUBJECTS A total of 446 out of 465 eligible adolescents managed for incomplete abortion during the study period were enrolled from January 1st to December 31st 1997. RESULTS. Their mean age was 17.5 years (SD +/- 1.3), while that of their male partners was 22.4 years (SD +/- 3.4). The unmarried adolescents comprised 43.9% and students 38.6%. About 30.0% had attained secondary school level of education. The mean age at sexual debut was 15.7 years (SD +/- 1.75), about a year after that at menarche (14.3 years, (SD +/- 1.4)). The mean number of sexual partners they had had was 1.5 (SD +/- 0.86), the highest being 10. The index pregnancy was reportedly unwanted in 45. 1% of the total. The rate was higher among the young, single and students. They were also less likely to have informed their partners about the pregnancy or the abortion (p = 0.0001). About 52.8% of the female students were involved with fellow male students. Of the married adolescents, 4.4% reported having had extramarital affairs. CONCLUSION There is need to design appropriate programmes to promote safe sex and reduce unwanted pregnancy and unsafe abortion with its potential sequelae among adolescents in Malawi.