Pregnancy outcomes in young Turkish women

STUDY OBJECTIVE: We documented adolescent pregnancies that were thought to be at high risk for increased obstetric complications. DESIGN, SETTING, PARTICIPANTS: This study covered 442 pregnant women who were under 19 years of age and who delivered in Cukurova University, School of Medicine, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology between January 1, 1993 and December 31, 1997, retrospectively. RESULTS: The patients' mean age was 18.24 years and their mean gestational age was 38.2 weeks. The newborns' mean birthweight was 3093.05 g and their mean birth height was 45.75 cm. Apgar score in the 1st minute was 6.79 and at the 5th minute 8.37. Cesarean section rate was 28.5%. The most common causes were pregnancy-induced hypertension (PIH) and breech delivery. There were 32 stillborns and 5 early neonatal deaths. The most frequent obstetric complications were PIH (14.5%), preterm delivery (7.0%), and low birthweight (< 2000 g) (10.2%). The pregnant adolescents with obstetric problems (44.4%) had poor obstetric results. CONCLUSIONS: Adolescent pregnancies are considered high risk with many obstetric complications and poor obstetric results. To decrease the complications adolescent pregnancies must be followed-up as high risk pregnancies, especially in developing countries where socioeconomic factors are more pronounced.