Obstetric and Neonatal Outcomes of the Teenage Pregnancy.

Shin,  Jeong Hee; Bauer,  Siegfried; Yoon,  Young Sun; Jeong,  Hyun Chul; Rhie,  Young Jun; Lee,  Jang Hoon; Woo,  Chan Wook; Choi,  Byung Min; Kim,  Hai Joong; Park,  Sang Hee; Song,  Ji Won

Original Article

Journal of the Korean Society of Neonatology 2010;17(1):94-101.
Published online May 1, 2010.

Obstetric and Neonatal Outcomes of the Teenage Pregnancy.

Jeong Hee Shin, Siegfried Bauer, Young Sun Yoon, Hyun Chul Jeong, Young Jun Rhie, Jang Hoon Lee, Chan Wook Woo, Byung Min Choi, Hai Joong Kim, Sang Hee Park, Ji Won Song

¹Department of Pediatrics, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea. sunin@korea.ac.kr
²Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
³Department of Medical Social Work, Korea University Ansan Hospital, Gyenggi-Do, Korea.

청소년 임신에 따른 임산부와 신생아의 주산기 문제점

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Abstract

PURPOSE
In recent years, Korea has showed a steady increase in the frequency of teenage births, while the overall birth rate has declined. As the teenage birth is known as a high risk pregnancy itself, we examined perinatal complications of teenage mothers and whose neonates in aspects of medical problem, and social status and support.
METHODS
We examined the perinatal characteristics of teenage mothers and whose babies, who were hospitalized at Korea University Ansan Hospital from January 2004 to July 2009 using medical records retrospectively. Twenty-seven teenage mothers and their 28 babies were enrolled in this study.
RESULTS
Teenage mothers were all unmarried and showed high rates of preterm labor, maternal anemia, and unexpected delivery. Among them, 11 (40.7%) were from families that were separated. Eleven mothers (40.7%) did not have any antenatal care. There were high rates of prematurity and low birth weight (60.7% and 64.3%, respectively). The complication included: respiratory distress syndrome, patent ductus arteriosus and necrotizing enterocolitis. Fourteen babies (51.9%) were not going to be brought up by their biological parents.
CONCLUSION
Teenage pregnancy had high rates of preterm labor and associated complications, often caused by the lack of proper antenatal care. Babies from unmarried mothers were likely to be adopted and this could be a social burden. Therefore, to reduce unplanned teenage pregnancy and births, sex education and social supports should be provided to all teenagers.

Key Words: Teenage pregnancy; Unplanned pregnancy; Antenatal care; Newborn; Perinatal complication