Hospitalization in adolescence affects the likelihood of giving birth: a Swedish population-based register study

To examine the effect of hospitalization during adolescence on the likelihood of giving birth.

142 998 women born in 1973-75 were followed with the help of the Swedish Medical Birth Register (MBR) and the Swedish Total Population Register (TPR) up until the end of 2000 with respect to their likelihood of giving birth. All analyses were adjusted for parental socio-economic characteristics and factors related to the studied women's own birth.

The likelihood of giving birth between 20 and 27 years of age was positively affected by hospitalization at least once during adolescence according to the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register (HDR); adjusted hazard ratio (HR) = 1.32, 95% confidence interval: 1.29-1.35. Women hospitalized due to genitourinary diseases, respiratory diseases, abdominal problems and abuse of alcohol and drugs were more likely to have given birth during the study period, while hospitalizations according to cerebral palsy and congenital malformations tended to decrease childbearing. Women hospitalized due to psychiatric diseases had an increase likelihood of given birth at 20-24 years but a reduced thereafter.

A majority of the causes of hospitalization during adolescence increased the likelihood of giving birth between ages 20 to 27.