Comparison of maternal and foetal outcomes between adolescent and adult pregnancies; a descriptive cross sectional study

Abstract

Introduction: Adolescent pregnancy is a global issue and the trend is increasing specially in South East Asia. Pregnancies at a younger age have major maternal and fetal health consequences. The aim of this study was to compare selected maternal and fetal outcomes of adolescent pregnancies with its adult counterpart in a tertiary care center. Methods: A hospital based descriptive study was conducted at Teaching Hospital Mahamodara (THM), Galle. One hundred adolescent mothers (10-19 years) were compared with 100 adult mothers (20 -35 years) who had singleton uncomplicated pregnancy. Pre-tested interviewer administered questionnaire was used as the tool to collect data on basic demography, perinatal, maternal outcomes and mode of delivery. Chi-squared test and t-test were used to compare data and presented as proportions, mean (SD), with 95% CI. Results: Mean (SD) age at delivery of adolescent and adult mothers were 18 (0.2) and 27 (0.8) years respectively. Of the adolescent mothers 16% were unmarried. More adolescent mothers had anaemia compared to adults (38% vs. 32%), but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.37). Adolescent mothers had higher pre term delivery rate compared to adult mothers (23% vs.15%) but the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.18). There were no significant differences in birth weight (2.77 vs. 2.82; p=0.5) rate of admissions to premature baby unit (6% vs. 7%; p=0.8) and mean APGAR scores (9.9 vs 9.8; p=0.3) between the two groups. A significantly greater proportion of vaginal deliveries were carried out in adolescents compared to adults (75% vs. 55%; p= 0.003). Conclusions: Adolescent mothers underwent a significantly larger proportion of vaginal deliveries compared to adults. Though not significant, anaemia and preterm deliveries were higher than in their adult counter-parts. There was no significant difference between the two groups for the selected perinatal outcomes