Öz
Objective: Adolescence is a phase that takes place 10-19 years of life, in which many changes in the physiological, anatomical, structural and psychological aspects and finally switch to adulthood. Adolescent pregnancies are associated with adverse obstetric and neonatal outcomes. In this study, we aimed to determine the the effect of adolescent age on maternal and neonatal outcomes.
Method: In this single-centre retrospective study, maternal and neonatal data were collected from medical records at Malatya Turgut Ozal University Hospital between August 2020 to August 2021.
Results: 326 patients met full inclusion criteria (137 adolescent pregnants and 189 control group). The adolescent mothers had lower educational status and were less likely to get adequate antenatal care (p<0.001 and p=0.012). The frequency of extra-marital and religious marriage was higher in adolescents (p<0.001). Although the mean gestational week and prematurity rates of newborns born to adolescent mothers were similar; the frequency of low birth weight and SGA newborns was significantly higher than control group (p=0.006 and p<0.001, respectively). The delivery room resuscitation requirement was higher in the adolescent group (p<0.001). Considering the hospitalization rates of newborns, it was statistically higher in the adolescent group (p=0.001). Among the main reasons for hospitalization, there was a statistical difference in terms of hypoglycemia in newborns born to adolescent mothers (p<0.001).
Conclusions: Adolescent pregnancies should be considered as high-risk pregnancies because of poor maternal and neonatal outcomes. Appropriate antenatal and neonatal care should be provided to adolescents with regular follow-ups during pregnancy.