The Evidence to Action (E2A) Project and Pathfinder International/Burkina Faso recently began a new initiative for young First-Time Parents (FTPs) in the Fada and Diapaga districts in the Eastern Region of Burkina Faso. The project is intended to target FTPs—defined by E2A as young women (married or unmarried) under the age of 25 who are pregnant for the first time or have one child, and their male partners. The project includes both community-and facility-level interventions with the goal of increasing family planning (FP) uptake and the use of comprehensive reproductive health (RH) care—especially antenatal care (ANC) and obstetric and neonatal services —among FTPs.
E2A/Pathfinder selected the Eastern Region given the high frequency of early marriage and childbearing as well as poor maternal, neonatal, child health (MNCH) and FP outcomes for young mothers. The average age at first birth for women in the region is 19 years old, and 52% and 13.7% of women are married before age 18 and age 15, respectively. Furthermore, the region has a total fertility rate of seven children born per woman and low contraceptive use, with a contraceptive prevalence rate (CPR) of 18.8% and unmet need for contraceptive methods of 20.9%.1 At the start of the program, E2A collected information from first-time mothers (FTMs) interested in being part of the program. This FTP Snapshot highlights key demographic and service utilization information about FTMs in the Fada and Diapaga districts who have elected to participate in the FTP program.