Risk factors associated with teenage pregnancy during COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Ecuador is the second country in the region with the highest rate of teenage pregnancy. In this country, the number of pregnancies is significantly higher each year if we add abortions registered in the public health system, and those that occur clandestinely, without registration. Objective: to identify the risk factors associated with pregnancy in adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic in the urban health units of the city of Tulcán. Method: it was executed by combining quantitative and qualitative paradigms, action and non-experimental research, descriptive and correlational, field and bibliographic. The theoretical methods, the empirical method and documentary analysis, contributed to the topicality of the problem, to develop the proposal after the survey carried out with 87 pregnant women. Results: 67% of the adolescents were between 15 and 19 years old. 32% received visits from their romantic partner during the COVID-19 period, 43% did not have access to health services and 25% did not have access to sexuality education. On the other hand, 52% did not have access to contraceptive methods, 63% did not experience any type of domestic violence, although 2% were sexually raped. 56% declared having received help from their romantic partner and this same percent stated that they did not have the financial income to provide private care. 76% did not receive guidance on family planning and 63% indicated that the responsibility of receiving sexual guidance was on the parents. Conclusions: it was possible to identify risk factors for pregnant adolescents, which allows the development of educational interventions for better information on sexual education, family planning and contraceptive use.