Pregnancy outcome of parturients below 16 years of age

To compare the pregnancy outcome of parturients with less than 16 years of age to parturients with 24-28 years of age.

The hospital admission charts of 100 women aged below 16 as the study group and one-hundred women aged 24-28 years as the control group who delivered in Zeinabieh Hospital affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences, Shiraz, Iran since March 2000 to February 2001 were retrospectively studied.

The mean age for the study group was 14.5 +/- 1.4 years and the mean age of the control group was 26.5 +/- 1.8 years. Preterm birth happened in 18% of the study group compared to 10% of the control group (p=0.15). The mean birth weight was 2701 grams for the study group and 2776 grams for the control group. Fifteen percent of the newborns in the study group had low birth weights compared to 16% in the control group (p=1). Five percent of the neonates in the study group had 5-minute Apgar scores of less than 7 compared to 7% in the control group (p=0.77). Preeclampsia was not seen in the study group but was diagnosed in 2% of females in control group (p=0.49). In 3% of females in the study group cesarean delivery was performed compared to 9% in the control group (p=0.25). No maternal mortality was seen in either group.

There was no significant difference in the obstetric and neonatal outcome of parturients younger than 16 years compared to the parturients 24-28 years of age.