The European Journal of Public Health Advance Access originally published online on September 1, 2005
The European Journal of Public Health 2006 16(2):157-161; doi:10.1093/eurpub/cki158
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Maternal and Child Health |
Good outcome of teenage pregnancies in high-quality maternity care
Kaisa Raatikainen1, Nonna Heiskanen1, Pia K. Verkasalo2 and Seppo Heinonen1
1 Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, Finland
2 Unit of Environmental Epidemiology, National Public Health Institute, Kuopio, Finland
Correspondence: Seppo Heinonen, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Kuopio University Hospital, PO Box 1777, 70211 Kuopio, Finland, tel: +358 17 173311, fax: +358 17 172 486, e-mail: kaisa.e.raatikainen{at}kuh.fi
Background: Teenage pregnancies have been associated with fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, preterm birth and neonatal mortality. These could be due to biological immaturity, lifestyle factors or inadequate attendance to maternity care. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between young age of the mother and pregnancy risk factors and adverse pregnancy outcome in conditions of high-quality maternity care used by almost the entire pregnant population. Methods: We analysed a population-based database of 26 967 singleton pregnancies during 1989–2001. Only 185 of these mothers were under 18 years old. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire at 20 weeks of pregnancy and clinical records of pregnancy, delivery and newborn child. The information covered maternal risk factors, pregnancy characteristics and obstetric outcomes. Odds ratios (ORs) for adverse pregnancy outcomes in teenage compared with older mothers were obtained from multiple logistic regression models. Results: Teenage mothers smoked, were unemployed and had anaemia or chorioamnionitis more often than older mothers. On the other hand, they were overweight and had maternal diabetes less often than adults. Teenage mothers had as many instrumented deliveries (OR 0.70; 95% confidence interval 0.39–1.27) but fewer Caesarean sections (0.62; 0.39–0.97) than adults. We found no evidence for increased risk of preterm delivery, fetal growth restriction, low birth weight, or fetal or perinatal death in teenage mothers. Conclusions: These results suggest that increased risks for adverse pregnancy outcomes in teenage pregnancies can most probably be overcome by means of high-quality maternity care with complete coverage.
Keywords: outcome, pregnancy in adolescence, prenatal health care