BACKGROUND: In Chile, the prevalence of teenage pregnancy is 17%. AIM: To assess relationship between adolescent pregnancy and school desertion. PATIENTS AND METHODS: At the Hospital Guillermo Grant Benavente's Departament of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in Concepción, Chile, 2001 a comparative, cross sectional and correlational study was conducted. The study group were pregnant adolescents who deserted from school system, divided in two subgroups: 86 adolescents who deserted before pregnancy and 130 who deserted during pregnancy. RESULTS: Twenty percent of teenagers that deserted from school before pregnancy belonged to a sublevel of poverty, compared with 5% of those who deserted during pregnancy. Flunk was frequent in both but higher in girls that deserted before pregnancy (46.5 and 36.9% respectively, (p<0.001)). Economic problems were the main cause of desertion before pregnancy (27.6%). Shame (41.6%) and obstetric complications (31.7%) were the main reasons for deserting during pregnancy. Seventy percent of adolescents who deserted before pregnancy had no educational, working or recreational activities. The parental educational level of both groups was low. CONCLUSIONS: There is a relationship between teenage pregnancy and school desertion. Adolescents who deserted from school before pregnancy are more vulnerable.
BACKGROUND: In Chile, the prevalence of teenage pregnancy is 17%. AIM: To assess relationship between adolescent pregnancy and school desertion. PATIENTS AND METHODS: At the Hospital Guillermo Grant Benavente's Departament of Obstetrics and Gynecology, in Concepción, Chile, 2001 a comparative, cross sectional and correlational study was conducted. The study group were pregnant adolescents who deserted from school system, divided in two subgroups: 86 adolescents who deserted before pregnancy and 130 who deserted during pregnancy. RESULTS: Twenty percent of teenagers that deserted from school before pregnancy belonged to a sublevel of poverty, compared with 5% of those who deserted during pregnancy. Flunk was frequent in both but higher in girls that deserted before pregnancy (46.5 and 36.9% respectively, (p<0.001)). Economic problems were the main cause of desertion before pregnancy (27.6%). Shame (41.6%) and obstetric complications (31.7%) were the main reasons for deserting during pregnancy. Seventy percent of adolescents who deserted before pregnancy had no educational, working or recreational activities. The parental educational level of both groups was low. CONCLUSIONS: There is a relationship between teenage pregnancy and school desertion. Adolescents who deserted from school before pregnancy are more vulnerable.