Pregnancy Outcomes in Adolescents < 15 Years Old
Keng Suebnukarn MD*, Vorapong Phupong MD*
Affiliation : * Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University
Objective : The authors’ purpose was to assess the occurrence of specific complications of adolescent < 15
years old in a tertiary hospital population.
Materials and Methods : A retrospective study was conducted in a population of adolescents (age < 15 years)
delivered at the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, Chulalongkorn University
from January 1,1994 to December 31, 2004. Subgroup analysis was also conducted according to the total
number of antenatal visits. Group 1 had total antenatal visits less than four times during their gestation;
group 2 had total antenatal visits at least four times during their gestation.
Results : During an 11-year study period, a total of 340 adolescent pregnancies aged < 15 years old, were
delivered. The patients’ mean age was 14.5 years, and their mean gestational age was 37.5 weeks. Most cases
(95.6%) were nulliparous. 12.3% of the cases had no antenatal care. The newborns’ mean birth weight was
2819.2 g. Cesarean section rate was 12.1%. The most frequent obstetric complications were: anemia (22.6%),
preterm delivery (16.5%), preeclampsia (7.4%), and small for gestational age infants (4.4%). Preterm delivery
was the only obstetric complication that was significantly different between the two groups (22.1% in group
1 versus 12.0% in group 2, p < 0.05)
Conclusion : Pregnancy in adolescents < 15 years poses many obstetric complications. These complications
are reduced when they have a total antenatal care visit at least four times during their gestations. This
information can be used to counsel adolescents who are pregnant to be concerned about their antenatal care.
Keywords : Pregnancy, Outcome, Young adolescent, Complications
