Pregnancy outcomes among adolescent and older women receiving comprehensive prenatal care.

This study compares three birth outcomes, gestational age, birthweight, and type of delivery, among adolescent and older mothers. Data were collected from 911 women who attended a comprehensive prenatal-care program in a large urban teaching hospital. Women aged 13-19 years were at increased risk for low-birth-weight babies (less than 2500 g) and for preterm infants of fewer than 38 weeks gestation, even with antenatal care, ethnicity, and other factors controlled. Results of bivariate analyses suggested that women aged 20-36 years are more likely than adolescent mothers to have a cesarean section; however, multivariate analyses suggested that maternal age was not an important factor in relation to type of delivery. Thus, even with similar comprehensive care, pregnant adolescents were at an increased risk of some adverse outcomes. However, the amount of antenatal care is a more important predictor of pregnancy outcome than is maternal age.