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Introduction: Contraceptive use among female adolescents has been found to be associated with positive health outcomes such as reduction in unplanned pregnancies, reduced maternal and child mortalities. However, contraceptive use among female adolescents is still low in developing countries despite high fertility rates in young women. Therefore, this study sought to investigate the determinants of contraceptive use among female adolescents. Methods: A community-based cross sectional study was conducted among sexually active female adolescents. Using structured questionnaire, data were collected from a randomly sampled 324 adolescent girls aged 10-19 years. Data were analyzed using Stata version 13.1. Pearson Chi-Square and Fisher's Exact test were conducted at bivariate level and significant variables included in a single logistic model for regression. P-values of <0.05 at 95% confidence interval were considered significant. Results: Ninety-five percent of the participants showed some knowledge about contraceptives. However, the prevalence of contraceptive use was only 38.1%. The commonly used methods were injectable (56.8%) and condoms (39%). Reasons cited for non-use of contraceptives were; fear of side effects, lack of partner support among others. Age, marital status, parity, religion, partner/parent support, cost of contraceptive, peer influence and misconceptions were significantly associated with the use of contraceptives among female adolescents. Conclusion: The high level of knowledge about contraceptives did not translate into contraceptive uptake by female adolescents. There is the need for health professional to scale up health education on the benefits of contraceptives especially within the existing adolescent health clubs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Timely initiation of breastfeeding is putting the newborn to the breast within 1 h of birth. Its practice can prevent neonatal and under-5 mortality. This study aims to assess the prevalence and factors associated with timely initiation of breastfeeding among mothers in Ghana. Methods: We used data from the 2017–2018 Ghana multiple indicator cluster survey and our analysis was restricted to 15,305 mothers who had a live birth within 2 years. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the factors associated with timely initiation of breastfeeding whilst adjusting for potential confounders, and accounted for clustering, stratification, and sample weights. Results: The prevalence of timely initiation of breastfeeding was 51.3% (95% CI 48.1, 54.6%). Mothers who received antenatal care were twice as likely to timely initiate breastfeeding compared to mothers who did not receive antenatal care (Adjusted prevalence odds ratios [aPOR] 2.01, 95% CI 1.03, 3.95). Mothers who were assisted by a skilled attendant at birth had 90% higher odds of timely initiation of breastfeeding compared to mothers who were not assisted by a skilled attendant (aPOR 1.90, 95% CI 1.41, 2.55). Mothers who delivered by caesarean section had 76% lower odds of timely initiation of breastfeeding compared to mothers who had a vaginal delivery (aPOR 0.24, 95, 95% CI 0.16, 0.36). Mothers who had planned their pregnancy had 45% higher odds of timely initiation of breastfeeding compared to mothers who had an unplanned pregnancy (aPOR 1.45, 95% CI 1.09, 1.92). There were also 84% and 55% higher odds of timely initiation of breastfeeding among mothers who perceived their baby was large (aPOR 1.84, 95% CI 1.32, 2.58), and of average size (aPOR 1.55, 95% CI 1.11, 2.17) at birth respectively, compared to mothers who perceived their baby was small. Conclusions: Interventions to increase timely initiation of breastfeeding should provide breastfeeding support to mothers who have had a caesarean section or small sized babies, prevent unplanned pregnancies, and promote antenatal care attendance among pregnant women. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]