Adolescente and pregnancy: epidemiologic evaluation and morbidity

Abstract

Between july 1988 and june 1990 we studied 190 pregnant adolescents of low socioeconomic extraction in Medellín, Colombia. According to age they were classified in three groups, namely: extreme (13-15 years), intermediate (16-17 years) and borderline (18-19 years); one hundred pregnant women aged 20-30 years, of similar socioeconomic status, served as controls. The following aspects were included: civil status, attendance to prenatal and high-risk services, pregnancy acceptance, familiar rejection, therapy, psychoactive-drugs utilization by either patients or their sexual partners, diseases during pregnancy, delivery and puerperium, gestational age at delivery and mortality. Significant differences (p < 0.05) between adolescents and controls were found only in the following variables: 1) lower proportion of marriage among adolescents; 2) higher proportion of students among adolescents; 3) higher proportion of controls devoted to household chores; 4) higher proportion of controls with incomplete elementary school; 5) higher proportion of smokers among controls; 6) higher frequency of diseases during pregnancy, delivery and puerperium in adolescents; 7) higher frequency of urinary tract and other infections and of antibiotics usage in adolescents. There were also some differences between groups of adolescents; one of them was the higher proportion of breech presentation as a cause for cesarean section in extreme adolescents as compared with the intermediate ones. Based on these findings we emphasize the need to optimize attention to pregnant adolescents.