Obstetric outcome of teenage pregnancies

A retrospective cohort study was performed in a tertiary centre to determine if teenage nulliparas (aged alpha19 years, study group) had higher incidences of instrumental and Caesarean deliveries compared with nulliparas aged 20-34 years (control group) selected from the first women in the birth registry who delivered after each study case and satisfying the criteria for controls. The hospital records of the study and control cases were retrieved for review. Comparison was made in the maternal demographics, major antenatal complications, outcome of labour, mode of delivery, and perinatal outcome. In the study group, maternal height was similar but the body mass index was lower. Although the mean birthweight was lower and the incidences of preterm labour and small-for-gestational-age infants higher, there were also increased incidences of large-for-gestational-age and macrosomic infants. While there was no difference in the types of labour, there were fewer Caesarean and instrumental deliveries, a finding that persisted even after excluding the preterm deliveries. Lastly, teenage mothers aged <17 years had similar outcomes to those aged 17-19 years. These results indicated that teenage mothers had better obstetric outcomes, despite the higher incidence of preterm labour, and that young adolescents (<17 years) performed as well as their older peers.