Adolescent pregnancy: are there biological barriers for pregnancy outcomes?

The present prospective study comprised 111 adolescent (< 20 years) and 637 non-adolescent (20+ years) pregnant women, at the main maternity hospital and 79 primary health care centers in Taif area. Their demographic, behavioral, nutritional and socio economic data were analyzed with birth outcom...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inJournal of the Egyptian Public Health Association Vol. 70; no. 5-6; p. 609
Main Author Abalkhail, B A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published England 1995
Subjects
Adolescent
Adult
Birth Weight
Female
Fetal Growth Retardation - epidemiology
Health Behavior
Hospitals, Maternity
Humans
Infant, Low Birth Weight
Infant, Newborn
Logistic Models
Maternal Age
Mothers - education
Mothers - psychology
Multivariate Analysis
Nutritional Status
Obstetric Labor, Premature - epidemiology
Pregnancy
Pregnancy in Adolescence - psychology
Pregnancy in Adolescence - statistics & numerical data
Pregnancy Outcome - epidemiology
Pregnancy Outcome - psychology
Prospective Studies
Risk Factors
Saudi Arabia - epidemiology
Socioeconomic Factors
Saudi Arabia
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Summary:The present prospective study comprised 111 adolescent (< 20 years) and 637 non-adolescent (20+ years) pregnant women, at the main maternity hospital and 79 primary health care centers in Taif area. Their demographic, behavioral, nutritional and socio economic data were analyzed with birth outcomes to compare the latter in the two study groups. The pregnancy outcomes considered were fetal growth retardation (small-for-date), low birth weight, and preterm delivery. Adolescent mothers were found to be more likely to deliver low birth weight infants even after controlling for major risk factors. The possibility of biological barriers to favorable outcome of pregnancy in adolescent mothers could not be overruled. However, more studies are needed to look at biological age rather than chronological age and to determine outcomes of pregnancy such as intra-uterine growth retardation and preterm delivery more accurately before drawing any conclusion.
ISSN:0013-2446