Adolescent pregnancy

The results of a retrospective study of adolescent pregnancy indicated that obstetric and perinatal complications were fewer than expected. The case histories of 178 pregnancies, all occurring in patients aged 15 years or less at the time of delivery, were reviewed. During the ten-year period 1963 to 1972 there were no maternal deaths, no stillbirths and no neonatal deaths. As expected, the majority of patients were primigravidae, but 35 patients (approximately 20 per cent) subsequently became pregnant for a second time before their sixteenth birthday. This emphasizes the need for improvement in contraceptive advice and follow-up for this age-group so that further illegitimate pregnancy or abortion can be avoided.