The remaining of the paper is organized as follows. Section 2 presents the literature review. Section 3 introduces the data used. Section 4 details the econometric strategy and summarizes the main empirical findings. Section 5 concludes.

# 2. Literature Review

# 2.1. Negative Impact of Teenage Childbearing

Scientific knowledge about the risks and consequences of adolescent childbearing has grown substantially over the past decades: a large body of research indicates that becoming a parent as a teenager leads to lower social and economic attainment for young mothers and their family and that it entails considerable health risks for herself and the child.

**_Numerous studies have reported that children born to teenage mothers experience greater health problems and mortality risks than do those of older mothers._** Early pregnancies are associated with significantly worse prenatal health care and vaccination behavior, lower birth weights, earlier weaning, and, especially during the second year of life, higher mortality (see LeGrand and Mback ́e (1993) for evidence on Eritrea, Westoff (1992), Zabin and Kiragu (1998) for evidence on SSA). Hobcraft (1992) presents data from 36 Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and World Fertility Surveys (WFS) showing that the average relative risk of death before age five is about 46% higher for children born to mothers under 18, and 13% higher for those born to mothers aged 18-19, compared with children of mothers aged 20-34. Young maternal age can increase children’s health risks both for physiological and behavioral reasons. Teenage mothers may be physically less mature and less able to handle the demands of pregnancy, childbirth, and subsequent child care. Young mothers face greater risks of obstetric fistula, preeclampsia, hemorrhage, and pelvic bone immaturity increases the likelihood of cephalopelvic disproportion, which is associated with a higher incidence of premature birth, prolonged labor, and otherwise difficult childbirth (UNICEF (2001)). The behavior of teenage women may be ceteris paribus less conducive to good health in children. Young women lack experience and tend to be less psychologically mature and emotionally stable, leading to poorer maternal and child health care and infant feeding behaviors (Senderowitz (1995)). In most situations in SSA, however, family ties and especially the extensive assistance of older female relatives in child care may limit the impact of these factors.

**_Adolescent mothers have higher health risks and lower health outcomes._** Teen pregnancies and deliveries often involve complications and, consequently, much greater risk of maternal mortality and morbidity, as compared to pregnancies of women in their twenties (WHO (2000), Ransom and Yinger (2002)). Pregnancy-related deaths are the leading cause of mortality for 15-19 yearold girls worldwide. Mothers in this age group face a 20 to 200% greater chance of dying in pregnancy than women aged 20 to 24. Those under age 15 are five times as likely to die as women in their twenties (WHO (2000)). In Zaria, Nigeria, maternal mortality among women younger than 16 is six times higher than for women aged 20-24, and similar findings have been reported from Cameroon and Ethiopia (Zabin and Kiragu (1998)). However, it is also possible that some of these outcomes may be due to unobserved factors related to both health and teen pregnancy: part of this heavy toll has more to do with poor socio-economic status and lack of prenatal and obstetric care than physical maturity alone (WHO (1989)).

**_Teenage childbearing is strongly associated with higher levels of completed fertility, closer spacing of births and higher proportions of unintended births._** One of the factors that determine the level of fertility in a population is the age at first birth. Women who start their reproductive life early are typically exposed to the risk of pregnancy for a longer period, especially when there

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