Induced abortion during youth: social inequalities in the outcome of the first pregnancy

This study aimed to identify the factors associated with induced abortion in the first pregnancy in young women and in the first time young men got their partners pregnant. The methodology was a household survey with face-to-face interviews in a probabilistic sample in three stages with 4,634 subjects, aged 18 to 24 years of age residing in the cities of Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre, Brazil. Logistic regression analysis was used with a hierarchical strategy for entering variables into the model. Abortion was the reported outcome of the first pregnancy for 16.7% of the women and 45.9% of the men (in relation to their partners). Key factors associated with abortion included higher schooling and the occasional nature of the relationship with the male or female partner in the respective pregnancy. Inclusion of males in the study provided new elements for understanding the abortion phenomenon, including in the gender issues in discussion of the theme. The authors recommend greater public investment to warrant access to information and means for young people to achieve their reproductive plans in a security and healthy way, respecting their sexual and reproductive rights.

Maternidade e paternidade na adolescência: algumas constatações em três cidades do Brasil

Este estudo descreve jovens de 18 a 24 anos que experimentaram a maternidade e a paternidade na adolescência. Os dados são oriundos de um estudo multicêntrico (Pesquisa GRAVAD) realizado nas cidades brasileiras de Porto Alegre, Rio de Janeiro e Salvador, por meio de inquérito domiciliar, com amostragem probabilística estratificada em três estágios. Do total de 4.634 pessoas entrevistadas, 17,9% de mulheres e 6,3% de homens tornaram-se pais antes dos vinte anos. Os jovens pais/mães apresentam baixa escolaridade e inserção precoce no mercado de trabalho. A maioria desses jovens declara renda familiar per capita até um salário mínimo. A existência de filhos motiva a união conjugal juvenil, na qual se reafirmam as funções de prover e cuidar da criança para homens e mulheres, respectivamente. A família se constitui como instância fundamental de apoio material e afetivo para os jovens pais, mesmo para aqueles que formaram um novo grupo familiar.

School trajectory and teenage pregnancy in three Brazilian state capitals

This paper describes the relationship between school trajectory and incidence of teenage pregnancy. A cross-sectional residence-based questionnaire was applied, interviewing 4,634 youth ages 18 to 24 years, selected through a stratified three-stage sample. For the present study, young people ages 20 to 24 years (65.6%) were chosen, with teenage pregnancy rates of 29.5% for females and 21.4% for males (in relation to their partners). Sexual debut was reported by 87% of women and 95.3% of men. The majority of young people reported irregular school trajectory, with 39% enrolled in school at the time of the study. Nearly half of those who had interrupted their studies at least once reported a teenage pregnancy. The main reasons for interrupting their studies were pregnancy and children for women and work for men. School dropout due to teenage pregnancy was mentioned by 40.1% of women for whom the outcome of pregnancy was a child. However, 20.5% had already dropped out of school before becoming pregnant.

[Risk factors for hysterectomy among Brazilian women]

A case-control study was conducted to investigate risk factors for hysterectomy among women using the public health system in Northeast Brazil. The cases were 373 women aged 30-54 years that had undergone elective hysterectomy for benign pelvic conditions. Controls were 742 women with preserved uterus selected from public health clinics. Data were collected through a review of medical records and a personal interview using a structured, pre-tested questionnaire. Unconditional multiple logistic regression was applied in the analysis. Women at greater risk for hysterectomy were those with a higher per capita family income, zero to three children, a history of medical consultation for menstrual problems, hospitalization for gynecological problems, or tubal ligation before age 30 years. Menopause and a history of stillbirth appeared as protective factors in the statistical analysis.

[Adolescence and reproduction in Brazil: the heterogeneity of social profiles]

This study aims to estimate the prevalence of adolescent pregnancy (AP) in three Brazilian cities Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, and Porto Alegre and to examine the profiles of pregnant girls and their partners in relation to pregnancy outcomes. Data for a retrospective assessment of AP were collected using an interview-based household survey applied to a stratified sample of males and females aged 18-24. A total of 4,634 individuals were interviewed (85.2 % of the eligible individuals). 21.4% of males and 29.5% of females aged 20-24 reported AP, but few such pregnancies had taken place before age 15 (0.6% and 1.6%). Pregnancy between adolescent partners was reported by 55.1% of males and 27.9% of females. 79.8% of the latter became pregnant while involved in a stable relationship with an older partner. AP levels varied inversely to schooling and income levels. 72.2% of females and 34.5% of males carried their first AP to completion, and more cases of induced abortion were reported by male partners in pregnancies (41.3%) than by females (15.3%). With the birth of the first child, 25.0% of women interrupted their studies temporarily and 17.3% definitively. However, 42.1% of primiparous mothers were already outside school before pregnancy.