Is there a link between teenage pregnancy and household member emigration? A secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from Colombia

Research suggests that transnational networks could have a beneficial effect on the health of the sender country by disseminating health innovations. This study investigates whether having a household member who has emigrated is related to teenage pregnancy in Colombia, a country with high teenage pregnancy rates (66.7 per 1000 women) and high levels of migration. To investigate the link between emigration and teenage pregnancy, this study performed a secondary analysis of the 2015 Colombia Demographic and Health Survey, a large and in-depth survey using the 2005 Colombian census as its sampling frame. A logistic regression was performed across all women aged 13 to 19 (n = 8526), modeling the relationship between having an emigrant household member and teenage pregnancy while controlling for household wealth and school attendance. The study found no such relationship. Instead, school attendance and wealth were both significantly associated with teenage pregnancy. The lack of a significant finding may stem from the fact that Colombian migration generally does not tend to flow to nations with higher quality healthcare and health information, or from the fact that those most at risk of teenage pregnancy were also the least likely to be exposed to migrants living in countries with access to better healthcare. Based on our findings, concentrating efforts on people living in impoverished communities is therefore recommended, as they face greater risks of and negative consequences from teenage pregnancy.