F Choi, AWF Cheng, WK Chiu

Abstract

Introduction: Teenage pregnancy accounts for 11% of births worldwide. It is associated with poorer perinatal and developmental outcomes when compared to their adult counterparts. Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted in a Hong Kong regional hospital, comparing the perinatal outcomes between babies delivered to teenage mothers aged below 20 years and those delivered to mothers aged between 20 and 34 years. Risk factors which may affect developmental outcomes were also analysed. Results: Teenage pregnancy was associated with more preterm deliveries (<37 weeks) (p<0.001), more babies with low birth weight (p<0.001) and more babies who were small for gestational age (p=0.015). They also had significantly higher odds of delivering preterm babies when compared to adult mothers (aORs 9.309, 95% CI 1.918 to 45.173, p=0.006). Amongst the teenage pregnancy cases, those with prior CCDS follow-up had significantly higher number of children with developmental delay (p=0.017). Conclusions: Teenage pregnancy is associated with adverse neonatal outcomes, which may be due to biological immaturity, poor socio-economic status or a combination. Developmental delay is often found in children of teenage mothers. It is essential to identify risk factors to provide social support and education so that children will be able to cope with their everyday activities better.