Obstetrics and Perinatal Outcome of Adolescent Nulliparous Pregnant Women

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Abstract
Objective: To study obstetrics and perinatal outcome in nulliparous teenage singleton pregnancies at a referral teaching hospital in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia. Method: All singleton births during 1996–2000 of nulliparous mothers aged ≤17 years at King Fahd University Hospital were reviewed (n = 102) and compared with births of a control group of nulliparous mothers aged 20–24 years who delivered during the same period (n = 102). Results: The incidence of nulliparous teenage pregnancies was 0.8%. As compared with women aged 20–24 years, women of 17 years or less were at higher risk of very preterm birth (p < 0.05). The 5-min Apgar scores were not different between the two groups. Babies born to younger mothers had a significantly lower birth weight than those born to older mothers (p < 0.001); the incidence of a low birth weight (Conclusion: The increase in the very preterm births and the subsequently lower birth weight observed in nulliparous teenage women suggest that the maternal age may be a risk factor for very preterm births and associated long-term hazards.

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