Socio-economic Correlate of Early Childbearing

Shorttitle The study investigated teenage childbearing patterns with a view to examine consequences of teenage childbearing in Southwest Nigeria.Employing 0.3 as the prevalence rate of early childbearing from Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey 2003 and 10% sample size adjustment factor for non-response rate, 355 women aged 15-49 years were selected and interviewed through a systematic random sampling technique. Structured questionnaire that investigated socio-economic variables of early childbearing was used for the study. With a mean age at first birth of 17 years, the study revealed a high prevalence rate of early childbearing among women in the study areas. The study further discovered that the incidence of early childbirth cut across parental socio-economic characteristics. Lastly, this study observed serious consequences ranging from high school drop-out, low or diminished employment opportunities for women, higher infant and maternal morbidity and mortality to the issue of poverty regeneration among women who experienced early childbirth in Southwestern Nigeria.