Pregnancy outcomes among nulliparous teenagers in suburban Nigeria

Abstract

Our objective was to study the pregnancy outcomes among teenagers in a rural Nigerian setting. Single births to 1394 nulliparous mothers aged <or=19 during 1996-2001 at three district general hospitals were studied retrospectively. The outcome of pregnancy was compared with that of 1488 older nulliparae aged 20-24 years who delivered during the study period. Compared with women aged 20-24 years, patients of 15 years or less were at higher risk for anaemia, premature labour, low birth weight, and operative deliveries. However, the older teenagers (16-19 years) were less at risk. When women with inadequate prenatal care were removed from analysis, the risks in younger teenagers were not significantly different from those of older mothers. This calls for action to make prenatal care more available to teens, particularly those less than 15.