Negative birth outcomes and stunting among adolescent and nonadolescent mothers in Türkiye

Abstract

Background: Adolescent motherhood can cause lifelong health inequalities for mothers and children. Aims: To compare the frequency of negative birth outcomes and stunting among children aged ≤ 5 years born to adolescent and non-adolescent mothers. Methods: This was a secondary analysis of the Demographic and Health Survey data of 2755 adolescent and nonadolescent mothers aged 15–49 years who had a negative birth outcome and their children aged 0–5 years in Türkiye. The data were analysed using SPSS version 25.0. Results: Term low birthweight and stunting were significantly higher among children of adolescent mothers. Multivariable analysis revealed that lack of education, poverty, and living in eastern Türkiye increased the risk of delivering a term low birthweight infant. The risk of being stunted was 2.22 times higher among women with lower socioeconomic status, and 2.86 times higher among low birthweight infants. Conclusion: Our results show that macroenvironmental factors have a marked impact on maternal and child health, especially among women with lower socioeconomic status. Improving maternal education, income, and other socioeconomic inequalities can help improve maternal and child health in Türkiye.