OBJECTIVE:

Adolescent pregnancies have increased over the past years, being considered a significant social and reproductive concern and 15-20% of all births are to adolescent mothers. The purpose of this study was to compare the perinatal outcomes of women aged 19 or less with adult pregnancies between 20-38 year-old women in our institution.

MATERIAL-METHOD:

The hospital admission charts of 715 adolescents (adolescent group) and 4560 adults aged 20-38 years (control group) delivered in a university hospital in Turkey were retrospectively studied. Maternal data including maternal age at delivery, gravidity, parity, gestational age at delivery, delivery mode, indications for cesarean section, and obstetric complications and also fetal outcome such as birth weight, Apgar scores, neonatal gender, neonatal morbidity and mortality were recorded.

RESULTS:

The median ages of the adolescent and the control group were 18 and 27 years, respectively. The ratios of low birth weight and macrosomia in adolescent and control groups were 26.4% vs. 22.9% and 2% vs. 5.6%, respectively. First min Apgar score less than 7 in the newborns of the adolescent group was 23.9% compared to 20.7% in control group. The ratios of cesarean section delivery in adolescent and control groups were 30% and 52.7%, respectively. In adolescents the most common indications for cesarean section were acute fetal distress (31.3%), malpresentation (23.3%), and previous cesarean section (22.2%). The most common obstetric complications in adolescent pregnancies versus pregnancies in control group were premature rupture of membranes 49 (13.9 % vs. 7.2%) (p< 0.05), preterm delivery 39 (11.1% vs 4.2%) (p< 0.05), and eclampsia 18 (5% vs 1.5%) (p< 0.05).

CONCLUSIONS:

The prevalence of teenage pregnancies in Turkey remains high. Most teenage mothers and their newborn infants are vulnerable to a variety of potentially serious obstetric problems, and accordingly need appropriate help and support.

Keywords: Adolescent pregnancies, obstetric complications, maternal outcomes, fetal complications