[Effects of maternal age in the neonate health status: Chilean evidence]

The purpose of this study was to compare the pregnancy outcome and the growth and development of infants of adolescent and older mothers in a Latin American setting in which young mothers received aggressive prenatal care, and in which breast feeding behavior of all women was strongly encouraged and recorded. Our hypothesis was that the generally higher rates of low birth weight and neonatal complications among infants of Chilean adolescents would be eliminated by an aggressive protocol of prenatal care.

Data on prenatal care, gestation, birth and infant growth and development were extracted retrospectively from the medical records of 200 low socioeconomic status para I patients, all of whom received care by the same hospital team. The sample included 50 women ages 14-16, 50 women 17-19, and 100 women 20-24.