The obstetric outcome of teenage pregnancy

Abstract

A retrospective case record analysis of the obstetric outcome in 715 consecutive teenage primigravidae was performed. They were late in booking for hospital confinement and were frequently unsure of their expected date of delivery; 82% were unmarried before conception. When compared with primigravidae aged 20 to 24 years, anaemia was the only antenatal complication that was significantly increased. There was no evidence of an increased obstetric risk in the teenage women as a group but those who remained single showed significantly higher rates of premature labour and perinatal mortality when compared with the married women and appear to constitute an at risk group.