Adolescent deliveries in rural Cameroon: comparison of delivery outcomes between primipara and multipara adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Adolescent pregnancies are high risk and deliveries in this age group are usually associated with adverse outcomes. The perception that multiparous adolescents have better delivery outcomes than primiparous counterparts is not uncommon. We sought to determine if multiparous adolescents were precluded from having adverse delivery outcomes when compared to primiparous adolescents. The data used for the analysis is a side product from a published project aimed at mapping the epidemiology of adolescent deliveries in the Oku health district. RESULTS: From an 8-year (2009–2016) retrospective register analysis of data from two primary healthcare facilities in the Oku health district—a rural area in Cameroon, the prevalence of multiparous adolescent deliveries was 21.5% (78/363). After multivariable analyses, and adjusting for age, sex of baby, gestational age, marital status and HIV status, primiparous adolescents were more likely to have low birth weight infants (LBW) (OR: 3.2; 95% CI 1.1, 9.7; p = 0.04) when compared with multiparous adolescents. Though primiparous adolescents were more likely to have LBW infants than multiparous adolescents, this group of mothers are generally ill-equipped to handle pregnancies and adolescent-friendly programs are necessary to decrease the associated burden. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (10.1186/s13104-018-3550-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.