Factors Influencing Unwanted Pregnancies and Methods Used to Prevent Them among Adolescents in Mahama Refugee Camp, Kirehe District, Rwanda

Rachel Nyirankundwa; Rosemary Okova

doi:10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.89489

Factors Influencing Unwanted Pregnancies and Methods Used to Prevent Them among Adolescents in Mahama Refugee Camp, Kirehe District, Rwanda

Author(s)	Ms. Rachel Nyirankundwa, Rosemary Okova
Country	Rwanda
Abstract	Abstract Unwanted pregnancy is a major global concern due to its association with adverse physical, mental, social and economic outcomes. Adolescent pregnancy and childbearing are a global health and economic challenge nowadays. The purpose of this study is to assess the factors influencing unwanted pregnancies and methods used to prevent them among adolescents in Mahama refugee camp, Kirehe District. A cross-sectional design was used, and the sample size was 99 teenage mothers selected by using convenience and purposive sampling techniques. The data was checked, entered, cleaned and exported to SPSS version 23 for further analysis. The majority were aged 15 to 16 years old presenting 37.4% and only 19.2 % were living with both parents. Findings show that 48.5% of respondents had a high level of knowledge and the majority of respondents 59.1% have fair practices related to unwanted pregnancy. Adolescents with secondary school were 1.9 times (AOR=1.9; 95%CI: [1.56-4.46]; p<0.001) more likely to avoid unwanted pregnancies compared to those with primary school or less. Adolescents with low level of knowledge towards sexuality were 2.7 times (AOR=2.7; 95%CI: [1.90-7.22]; p=0.006) more likely to have unwanted pregnancies compared to those with high level of knowledge and the odds of getting unwanted pregnancies was 2.4 times (AOR=2.4; 95%CI: [1.97-5.13]; p=0.019) among adolescents with poor practices towards sexuality compared to those with good practices towards sexuality. Despite the good level of knowledge observed, inadequate preventive practices toward unwanted pregnancy may contribute to the increased occurrence of unwanted pregnancies. The government should strengthen sexual and reproductive health policy interventions to ensure that unmarried youth wait to plan their pregnancies and prioritize encouraging peer educators and peer discussion to protect adolescents and youth from risky sexual behaviors in order to reduce unplanned pregnancy and its risks for unmarried female youth in refugee camps.
Keywords	Unwanted pregnancy, Mahama Refugee Camp, Kirehe District
Field	Sociology > Health
Published In	Volume 8, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-10-15
DOI	https://doi.org/10.36948/ijfmr.2026.v08i05.89489

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Factors Influencing Unwanted Pregnancies and Methods Used to Prevent Them among Adolescents in Mahama Refugee Camp, Kirehe District, Rwanda

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