Article
Risk Factors and Birth Outcomes Associated with Teenage Pregnancy: A Canadian Sample
Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology
(2019)
Abstract
Study Objective
To examine the extent to which socioeconomic status, mental health, and substance use are associated with teenage pregnancies in Southwestern Ontario (SWO), and whether these pregnancies are at an elevated risk for adverse birth outcomes, after controlling for medical, behavioral, and socioeconomic status factors.
Design
Retrospective cohort study using perinatal and neonatal databases.
Setting
Tertiary care hospital in SWO.
Participants
Women residing in SWO who gave birth to singleton infants without congenital anomalies between 2009 and 2014. Teenage pregnancies (19 years of age or younger) were compared with pregnancies of women 20-34 years and 35 years or older.
Interventions
None.
Main Outcome Measures
Low birth weight (LBW), very LBW, term LBW, preterm birth, very preterm birth, low and very low Apgar score,and fetal macrosomia.
Results
Of 25,263 pregnant women, 1080 (4.3%) were 19 years of age or younger. Approximately 18% of teenage mothers lived in so-cioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods, compared with 11% of mothers aged 20-34 and 9% of women 35 years of age or older(P!.001). Teenage mothers had higher rates of depression during pregnancy (9.8%) than mothers 20-34 years (5.8%) and those 35 years of age or older (6.8%;P!.001). Young mothers self-reported higher tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol use during pregnancy than adult mothers (P!.001). Teenage pregnancy increased the risk of a low Apgar score (adjusted odds ratio, 1.56; 95% confidence interval, 1.21-2.02), but was not associated with other birth outcomes after adjusting for covariates.
Conclusion
Teenage pregnancy is associated with a higher risk of socioeconomic disadvantage, mental health problems, and substance useduring pregnancy, but is largely unrelated to adverse birth outcomes in SWO
Disciplines
Publication Date
2019
Citation Information
Stephanie Wong, Jasna Twynstra, Jason A Gilliland, Jocelynn L Cook, et al.. "Risk Factors and Birth Outcomes Associated with Teenage Pregnancy: A Canadian Sample" Journal of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology (2019) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/jamie-seabrook/5/