Immediate neonatal outcome of adolescent pregnant mother at Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital.

Abstract

Pregnancy in teenage period of life is often associated with maternal complications as well as preterm delivery, low birth weight babies and small for date babies. The purpose of this study was to know the immediate outcome of neonates delivered by adolescent pregnant mother at Nepal Medical College Teaching Hospital (NMCTH), Attarkhel, Kathmandu. A retrospective comparative study was carried out in 350 adolescent pregnant mother who had delivered newborn at NMCTH from April 2005 to February 2009. Data were obtained from the case record register from Archive. Prevalence of adolescent pregnancy was 11.1%. Majority of adolescent mother were aged between 17-19 years, belonging to Mongolian ethnicity, Hindu by belief and residing within Kathmandu Valley. More than 90.0% mothers were primigravida and 85.4% had complete antenatal check up (ANC). Normal vaginal delivery was the predominant mode of delivery in both group (84.6% vs 80.0%), followed by lower section caesarean section (LSCS) (14.0% vs 18.8%) and instrumental delivery (1.1% Vs 1.2%). In newborn, male outnumbered female (59.7% vs 40.3%). A reasonable number of preterm (10.9% Vs 6.3% p = 0.029), low birth weight (12.3% vs 9.1% P = 0.259) and small for gestational age babies (7.4% vs 5.1% p = 0.318)) and birth asphyxia (10.3% Vs 5.1% p = 0.009%) were found in this study. These newborns are often associated with high morbidity and mortality. Therefore, it is imperative to prevent teenage pregnancy by providing adequate access to health facilities and raising awareness about the sex and reproductive health amongst this population.