Aim: To determine the morbidity status of pregnant adolescent girls in three districts in Sierra Leone. (Freetown, Kambia and Moyamba).
Methodology: Quantitative method of data collection was used, where 502 pregnant adolescent girls aged13–19 years were randomly selected.
Results: It was revealed that, malaria poses a serious threat to maternal health and has a big impact on the course of pregnancy. Malaria transmission among pregnant adolescent girls was lowest in Kambia and greatest in Freetown and Moyamba. Nearly 25% of pregnant teenagers have typhoid fever, which is a significant yet frequently disregarded maternal health burden. In contrast to its lowest malaria frequency, Kambia has the highest typhoid prevalence. Among the districts examined, Moyamba has the greatest frequency of anemia, whilst Freetown reported a moderate prevalence. The chi-square test indicates a statistically significant association between disease condition and study location (χ² = 36.23, df = 4, p < 0.001). This means that the distribution of abdominal pain, malaria, and typhoid is not the same across Freetown, Kambia, and Moyamba. It was also discovered that most of the pregnant adolescent girls did not attain tertiary education and very few of them were married which have great impact on their health status.
Conclusion: Adolescents who were pregnant suffered increased health risks due to pregnancy-related vulnerabilities, nutritional deficits, and infectious illnesses. Typhoid and malaria continue to be serious concerns, and stomach pain may indicate undiscovered illnesses. Pregnant teenage girls’ educational attainment and marital status were two important socioeconomic predictors of health.
Keywords: Morbidity, Nutritional challenges, Maternal health, Adolescents, Prevalence
Citation: Sesay, M. M. M., Sawaneh, M., Nyamawa, A., & Sheriff, F. (2026). Assessing morbidity and socioeconomic determinants among pregnant adolescent girls in three districts in Sierra Leone. J N food sci tech, 7(4):1-9. DOI : https://doi.org/10.47485/2834-7854.1073