Age at First Birth

The indicator assesses the proportion of young women who delivered their first baby before turning 20. According to UNFPA, adolescent girls (15-19 years) are twice as likely to die during pregnancy or childbirth as women in their 20s and their children are more likely to be undernourished. Early age at first birth also has gender implications as it decreases women’s education and income-generating opportunities.

Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with a representative sample of women aged 20-22 years:

RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTIONS (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)

Q1: Have you ever given birth?

A1: yes / no

(ask the following question only if the previous reply is YES)  

Q2: How old were you when you first gave birth?

A2: ………. (enter number)

To calculate the indicator's value, divide the number of respondents who delivered their first child before turning 20 by the total number of respondents. Multiply the result by 100 to convert it to a percentage.

Disaggregate the data by the respondent’s age at their first birth (15, 16, 17, 18, 19), marital status, location (rural/ urban) and socio-economic characteristics (education, wealth quintile).

1) The survey’s target population (women aged 20-22 years) was selected because at the time of your endline assessment, this group will represent those women who your intervention tried to influence regarding the age at which they give birth. This indicator is suitable only for longer-term interventions (at least 3-4 years), otherwise it is unlikely that you will be able to record any impact (as your intervention will likely focus on girls who by the time of the endline survey will not be at least 20 years old).