Teenage pregnancy in the Baixada Santista region: social and educational inequalities and challenges in healthcare

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the association between municipal indicators of schooling and prenatal care and the live birth rate among adolescents aged 10 to 19 in the Baixada Santista region from 2020 to 2023. Method: Ecological, descriptive, and analytical study based on secondary public data on adolescent pregnancy reports between 2020 and 2023. The variables assessed were education level, prenatal consultations, and age group. The Mann-Whitney U and Kruskal-Wallis tests were applied to identify differences between two or more groups nonparametrically. Results: In Baixada Santista, there is a higher number of births among adolescents aged 15 to 19, especially in Guarujá, Praia Grande, and São Vicente, with a significant difference between age groups (U = 0.00; p < 0.001). Mothers with 8 to 11 years of education predominate, indicating a relationship between lower education level and higher incidence of births, with no significant variation between municipalities (p = 0.485). Most pregnant women had seven or more prenatal appointments, but there are inequalities in access, with borderline variation between municipalities (p = 0.050). Conclusion: Adolescent pregnancy in Baixada Santista is a multifactorial phenomenon, marked by social inequalities, low educational levels, and limited access to prenatal care. The higher incidence among young people aged 15 to 19 requires targeted and intersectoral public policies.