Expanding access to maternal health services for pregnant adolescent girls

Abstract

A significant proportion of pregnant adolescent girls do not seek appropriate care during pregnancy because antenatal care services are ill-adapted to their age-group. To bridge this gap, the Lagos State Government established a ―Young Moms Clinic‖ where antenatal care services uniquely tailored to the needs of pregnant adolescents was piloted for six months. During this period, 106 pregnant adolescent girls enrolled in the clinic and 98% of them completed the minimum four ANC visits required of them. In addition, they acquired knowledge on newborn care, sexual reproductive health and were either re-integrated back to school or empowered with income-generating skills following delivery. In this regard, the Young Mom‘s Clinic is a promising approach to meet the needs of pregnant adolescent girls as it expanded their access to the type of specialized care not readily accessible to them within public health facilities. (Afr J Reprod Health 2021; 25[6]: 15-19).