Obstetric Outcome in Teenage Pregnancies at the University Teaching Hospital, Lusaka

Abstract

The teenage period is between 12 and 19 years. Pregnancy in the teenager poses special social, psycological and medical risks both to the mother and her offsping. Because of the physical, physiological and emotional immaturity of the adolescent period, pregnant teenagers are prone to developing pregnancy induced hypertension, eclampsia, preterm labour, low birth weight babies, stillbirths, cephalopelvic disproportion and obstructed labour with its resultant complications.This was a retrospective study at UTH over 1996 which looked at the incidence of teenage pregnancy and its obstetric outcome. The incidence of teenage pregnancy was 20%, and on the whole, the teenagers were found to have worse outcomes both for the mother and baby. The outcomes looked at were : mode of delivery, hypertensive disorders in pregnancy including eclampsia, low birth weight, stillbirths, asphyxia, ruptured uterus and maternal death. Teenagers had poorer maternal outcomes especially in terms of eclampsia, and had more instrumental deliveries. More of their babies had low birth weights, severe birth asphyxia and more were stillborn. Maternal death and ruptured uterus however were not significantly different from the older women. From these results recommendations have been made to follow up with a prospective study that should look at, among other things, the different possible confounding factors; need for sex education to teenagers; accessibility of family planning and antenatal care services to teenagers and dealing with obstetric problems promptly when they do occur to avoid severe complications.