Prevalence and factors associated with underweight among children under five born to adolescent mothers: Evidence from the 2022 Kenya Demographic and Health Survey

Abstract

Approximately 1 in 9 children under five years born to adolescent mothers in Kenya were underweight. Being in a marital union and an increase in the child's age emerged as key factors associated with underweight among children born to adolescent mothers. These findings highlight the need for targeted interventions to prevent early marriage among adolescent girls and to improvee complementary feeding practices among adolescent mothers to reduce the risk of underweight among their children..