The adolescent parturient: a study of an Israeli population.

ABSTRACT

PIP: The frequency and characteristics of adolescent deliveries in Israel were investigated through a review of the records of 195 young women 15-17 years of age who gave birth during 1984-88 at the 3 main hospitals in Haifa district. The mean number of annual deliveries by teenagers 15-19 years of age in this district was 321, corresponding to a fertility rate of 19 live births/1000 female adolescents. 57.7% of the 15-17 year old mothers were Jewish and 38.6% were Moslem. At delivery, only 11% were attending school and two-thirds were married. All the husbands/partners were older than 19 years. 76% of the pregnancies did not have any accompanying health problems and 87% were full-term births. The birth weight distribution was similar to that recorded for infants of non-adolescent women. There were 3 deaths: 2 stillbirths and 1 death of a premature infant. The relatively favorable pregnancy outcomes in this cohort in part reflect the availability of free prenatal care in Israel and its utilization by 97% of the population, regardless of educational level. The promotion of school attendance for Israeli girls who have dropped out of school is recommended to reduce pregnancy in this age group.