Outcome of teenage pregnancy at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Barbados, January 1983 - December 1985 - abstract

ABSTRACT

To determine whether the teenage mother and her baby are more prone to complications than the older woman, data were obtained from the Labour Ward and Neonatal Unit admission registers. Twelve thousand, one hundred and seven patients, of whom 2,791 were teenagers, were analysed. Analysis of common medical problems revealed that anaemia (82.7 percent) occurred more frequently in the teenager while diabetes mellitus (16.5 percent) and pre-eclampsia (16.3 percent) were problems encountered more often in the adult patient. The adult mother required more assistance in delivery, Caesarean Sections, (12.4 percent) being higher in this group. The babies of teenage mothers were at a disadvantage in terms of low birth weight and gestational age, lower 1-minute Apgar scores, sepsis and increased neonatal deaths, usually due to prematurity. While the teenage mothers may at present not be at an increased risk with adequate antenatal care, it is important that the offspring are regarded as high-risk neonates and are monitored closely (AU)