{"paper_id":"0d7769a5-3029-4183-8fb2-e26af9e59b08","body_text":"Early motherhood among adolescents in Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo: Prevalence and Determinants | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Early motherhood among adolescents in Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo: Prevalence and Determinants Jean Michel, Francois Kalenga Luhembwe, Deca Blood Banza Ndala, and 5 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-7956669/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Under Review Version 1 posted 10 You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract Teenage motherhood remains a major global public health concern, particularly in developing countries. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than two million adolescent girls become pregnant each year, leading to serious health, social, and economic consequences. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of teenage motherhood in Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo. A cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 1,256 adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 years. A simple multistage sampling method was applied across ten health zones of the city. Data were collected confidentially through KoboCollect after informed consent and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariate associations were tested with Chi-square, and multivariate analyses employed binary logistic regression at a 5% significance level. The prevalence of teenage motherhood was 16%. Significant associated factors included being among the eldest children (aOR = 1.48; 95% CI: 1.00–2.18), non-schooling (aOR = 25.55; 95% CI: 16.75–38.99), low maternal education (aOR = 1.72; 95% CI: 1.13–2.62), and a family history of teenage pregnancy (aOR = 2.27; 95% CI: 1.44–3.59). These findings highlight the urgent need for education, family-based interventions, and targeted reproductive health programs to prevent early motherhood and reduce related morbidity and mortality among adolescents. Prevalence determinants early motherhood Mbuji-Mayi Full Text Additional Declarations No competing interests reported. Supplementary Files questionnaireBMC.VF.docx Cite Share Download PDF Status: Under Review Version 1 posted Reviews received at journal 24 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 14 Jan, 2026 Reviewers agreed at journal 10 Jan, 2026 Reviews received at journal 02 Dec, 2025 Reviewers agreed at journal 19 Nov, 2025 Reviewers invited by journal 19 Nov, 2025 Editor invited by journal 01 Nov, 2025 Editor assigned by journal 01 Nov, 2025 Submission checks completed at journal 31 Oct, 2025 First submitted to journal 31 Oct, 2025 You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. 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Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {\"props\":{\"pageProps\":{\"initialData\":{\"identity\":\"rs-7956669\",\"acceptedTermsAndConditions\":true,\"allowDirectSubmit\":false,\"archivedVersions\":[],\"articleType\":\"Research Article\",\"associatedPublications\":[],\"authors\":[{\"id\":619592585,\"identity\":\"33a19ed1-7c7b-4b7a-b583-a4be80a3e889\",\"order_by\":0,\"name\":\"Jean Michel\",\"email\":\"\",\"orcid\":\"\",\"institution\":\"Higher Institute of Medical Techniques of Mbuji-Mayi\",\"correspondingAuthor\":false,\"prefix\":\"\",\"firstName\":\"Jean\",\"middleName\":\"\",\"lastName\":\"Michel\",\"suffix\":\"\"},{\"id\":619592586,\"identity\":\"504f0420-b559-4667-823d-d045cccb2bb0\",\"order_by\":1,\"name\":\"Francois 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According to the World Health Organization (WHO), more than two million adolescent girls become pregnant each year, leading to serious health, social, and economic consequences. This study aimed to determine the prevalence and associated factors of teenage motherhood in Mbuji-Mayi, Democratic Republic of Congo.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eA cross-sectional analytical study was conducted among 1,256 adolescent girls aged 10 to 19 years. A simple multistage sampling method was applied across ten health zones of the city. Data were collected confidentially through KoboCollect after informed consent and analyzed using SPSS version 20. Bivariate associations were tested with Chi-square, and multivariate analyses employed binary logistic regression at a 5% significance level.\\u003c/p\\u003e\\n\\u003cp\\u003eThe prevalence of teenage motherhood was 16%. 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