Abstract:

Abstract The study of adolescent fertility and its trends continues to be a priority for the social sciences. The political will to decrease this indicator is notable on international agendas, and for Cuba it is a priority. The article analyzes adolescent fertility, its evolutionary trend in the years up to 2020, and the behavior of its determinants. An approach to adolescent pregnancy in the context of COVID-19 in Cuba is presented. Demographic analysis is used as a method. Descriptive statistics (absolute and relative frequency), and comparison between years for an approximation of the possible impact of COVID-19 on adolescent fertility. The result is the disarticulation of Cuban fertility expressed in its low global fertility rate (TFR) and the specific adolescent fertility rate above what is expected and desired. Resistance to the notable decline in adolescent fertility continues, mainly in the eastern part of the country. Discontinuation rates exceed the fertility rate in this age group, accounting for the high rate of adolescent pregnancy. Contraception and marriage as proximate determinants still express gaps in the exercise of sexual and reproductive rights. The weight of adolescent fertility increased from 16.7% in 2019 to 17% in 2020, which means that adolescent girls contributed more to total fertility in 2020, the year of the pandemic, than in 2019. Among its conclusions, it stands out that in the context of COVID-19, adolescent fertility and its determinants have been impacted by all the conditions that this generates and are mediated by the social and economic scenario of the country, realizing that for an in-depth analysis in this regard, other data.

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