The impact of the Women's Centre of Jamaica Foundation programme for adolescent mothers on repeat pregnancies
Drayton, V.L.; Montgomery, S.B.; Modeste, N.N.; Frye-Anderson, B.A.; McNeil, P.
West Indian Medical Journal 49(4): 316-326
2000
ISSN/ISBN: 0043-3144 PMID: 11211543 Document Number: 305203
A random sample (n = 260) of primiparous Jamaican adolescent mothers (12-16 years old) who gave birth in 1994 in the parishes of Kingston and St Andrew, St Catherine and Manchester was selected from vital records and interviewed in 1998 for this historical cohort study. Among programme participants, the incidence of repeat pregnancy was 37 per cent compared with 60 percent among non-participants. Programme participation reduced the risk of one or more repeat pregnancies by 45 per cent with 95% confidence interval (0.22, 0.91). Programme participants were also 1.5 times (1.005, 2.347) more likely to complete high school than non-participants; however, this effect did not achieve statistical significance. The results confirmed that the WCJF Programme exerts a considerable effect on the incidence of repeat pregnancy among participants. The benefits of programme participation were greatest among residents of the Kingston Metropolitan Area from single-parent, female-headed households with average monthly incomes below J$10,000, who wanted to continue their education after the first live birth.