Study reveals the staggering toll of preterm births on young mothers
The study established the national prevalence of preterm births at 7.14 per cent; meaning approximately seven out of every 100 deliveries in the country are preterm.
What you need to know:
- Prematurity is the leading cause of death for children under five worldwide (about one in 10 children are born premature).
A new study reveals that preterm birth remains a major public health crisis in Kenya, affecting one in every 14 women.
The research, first published in the Sage Journal on March 20, found that younger mothers aged 15-24 face a significantly higher risk compared to women aged 25 and above.
Data was analysed from 7,291 women aged 15-49 to uncover the national prevalence and the individual and community-level factors driving preterm births in Kenya.
The study established the national prevalence of preterm births at 7.14 per cent; meaning approximately seven out of every 100 deliveries in the country are preterm.
Consistent antenatal care (ANC) emerged as a critical protective factor.
"The frequency of antenatal visits played a role, too. Kenya’s care guidelines are that mothers should make at least eight visits to a clinic during pregnancy. Women who attended four or more antenatal visits had lower chances of experiencing preterm births than those with fewer than four visits. This highlights the importance of consistent, quality antenatal care and prenatal monitoring for early detection and management of risk factors like hypertension, diabetes, and anaemia,” the study reads in part.
The research also pointed to the influence of a woman's environment. Women living in communities with moderate literacy levels were more likely to experience preterm births, suggesting that shared barriers to information and healthcare access in these areas can adversely affect pregnancy outcomes.
In a finding that challenges global trends, the study revealed a curious connection between socioeconomic status and preterm birth. Women in the highest wealth bracket had higher odds of delivering prematurely. Researchers suggest this may be linked to the increased use of medical interventions common among higher-income families, such as In-Vitro Fertilisation and Caesarean deliveries, which carry their own risks.
Prematurity is the leading cause of death for children under five worldwide (about one in 10 children are born premature).
According to the World Health Organization, healthcare infrastructure is ill-equipped to handle this challenge, suffering from inadequate neonatal intensive care units, a shortage of skilled birth attendants, insufficient equipment like incubators and ventilators, and poor referral systems.
A separate study from June 2025, titled ‘Pregnant teens in Kenya’s low-income areas avoid health care because of fear and stigma,’ found that teenage mothers often delay ANC visits until their second or third trimester.
This delay was attributed to girls not recognising early pregnancy signs, fear of the consequences of disclosure (such as being beaten, forced out of school, or abandoned by partners), lack of knowledge about the need for antenatal care, unsuccessful attempts to terminate the pregnancy, and fear of being stigmatised or harshly judged by health providers.
“However, in cases where the girls received support from their parents, guardians, or partners, the outcomes were different. Far from the stereotype of absent fathers, some male partners supported their partners in antenatal care visits,” says the study.
Globally, pregnant adolescents (aged 15-19) face a much higher risk of maternal mortality, childbirth complications, and having babies vulnerable to neonatal conditions, low birth weight, and preterm birth. This is especially relevant in Kenya, where the 2022 Demographic and Health Survey recorded a high adolescent birth rate of 73 live births per 1,000 girls aged 15-19.
The study on preterm births recommends that Kenya urgently intensifies efforts to encourage eight or more ANC visits, develop targeted sexual and reproductive health messages for young people focusing on preconception counselling, implement community strategies to reduce stigma around adolescent pregnancy, and involve families, schools, and male partners in outreach efforts.
Dr Caroline Kabiru, a co-author and senior scientist at the African Population and Health Research Centre, expressed distress over the number of girls in the study who had attempted unsafe abortions that failed.
“The judgment is primarily because the girls are young. The social norm is that adolescents shouldn't be having sex; therefore, getting pregnant is seen as going against acceptable behaviour. Health providers effectively shame and punish them for violating this norm,” she said.
Dr Kabiru noted that a third of the girls experienced some form of abuse, ranging from verbal and emotional to physical—including being slapped or hit. Some were even detained for inability to pay.
Provider burnout
"Some providers justified physical force, like hitting a part of the body, as an attempt to get compliance during childbirth when the mother was too afraid to push,” she said.
She added that provider burnout from systemic issues like overwork, high patient volume, and underpayment contributes to these judgmental attitudes and a lack of supportive care.
While acknowledging that many partners are unsupportive, Dr Kabiru highlighted that a significant number of young men do accept the pregnancy and offer support. She argued that interventions must therefore explicitly target men and boys to educate them on responsible fatherhood, paired with poverty eradication efforts; ensuring young fathers have access to employment and schooling as financial strain is a major barrier to their support and involvement.
"We are really trying to draw attention to the needs of pregnant and parenting adolescents because this is a group that often doesn't receive a lot of support. We are rightly focused on delaying pregnancy, but we should never forget that even with all these interventions, there will always be those who get pregnant, and it's important for
us to support them," she concludes.
