Early Teenage Pregnancy: Is it Safe?

To compare obstetric and perinatal outcomes of early and late teenage pregnancies of Omani nulliparous women with singleton pregnancies cared for and delivered at a tertiary teaching hospital.

In this retrospective study, we reviewed obstetric and perinatal outcomes of early teenage pregnancies (14-16 years), (n = 20) delivered at Sultan Qaboos University Hospital, Muscat, Oman, between 1 July 2006 and 30 June 2013 and compared their outcomes with outcomes of late teenage pregnancies (17-19 years), (n = 287) delivered at the same hospital during same period.

When compared with late teenage pregnant women, early teenagers were found to have no significant differences in prevalence of very preterm delivery <32 weeks (P = 0.62), preterm rupture of membranes (P = > 0.99), and anemia (P = 0.34). When compared to late teenagers, early teenagers had similar cesarean sections rates (P = >0.99), instrumental delivery rates (P = 0.56) and spontaneous vaginal delivery rates (P > 0.99). Both groups had similar birth weights (P = 0.87), low birth weights, (P = 0.55), and very low birth weights babies (P = 0.56 %). Perinatal mortality rate was similar in both groups.

We may conclude that early teenage pregnant Omani women are not at increased risk of obstetric and perinatal complication compared to older teenagers.