Unpacking the complexity in the connection between adolescent pregnancy and child undernutrition

Abstract

Since 2015, the prevalence of undernutrition has increased. This has led to approximately 800 million people being undernourished globally, resulting in growth stunting, underweight, anemia, and millions of deaths of children below the age of five. In order to engage with the problem, it is crucial to gain more insight into its relationship with other factors besides the food system. For instance, according to some sources, adolescent pregnancy is suspected to play a significant role in child undernutrition. However, it is unclear whether this relation is experienced in the everyday lives of impacted communities or how they perceive this interconnection between child undernutrition and adolescent pregnancy. Therefore, this thesis aims to deeply investigate the connection between adolescent pregnancy and child undernutrition from the perspective of impacted communities by conducting life history interviews, key informant interviews, photovoice, and focus group discussions with caregivers. The study was conducted in the Kabarole and Bundibugyo districts in Uganda, experiencing high numbers of child undernutrition and adolescent pregnancies. This study found that adolescent pregnancy is linked to child undernutrition through an extensive web of contributing factors, including poverty, inadequate education, a lack of knowledge on nutrition, health, family planning, and non-parental caregivers raising children. Multisectoral interventions are needed in order to address the issues. This thesis has contributed to the existing knowledge by describing the cohesion between different factors that contribute and/or link adolescent pregnancy and child undernutrition. Moreover, this thesis provides starting points to effective interventions that improve nutritional status without intensifying resource use in the food system.