Pregnancy, Health, and Birth Related Problems of Pregnant Adolescents

Authors : Perran Toksoz, Ali Ceylan, Özge Abaci Bozyel

Pages : 8-20

View : 15 | Download : 7

Publication Date : 2011-06-01

Article Type : Research

Abstract :Background: This study was conducted in order to identify the problems of pregnant adolescents related to general health, pregnancy, and birth; and to raise awareness among pregnant adolescents on healthy pregnancy and birth practices. Method: This is a cross-sectional study held in the Bağlar Health Center region, Diyarbakir. The data were acquired from the interview forms of 125 pregnant adolescents identified from among the health center records. The pregnant women were visited twice at their homes before and after birth. The required information related to pregnancy and delivery was collected, pregnant women were clinically examined and their blood and urine samples were collected. Results: adolescents were in their Iate adolescent years, that 46,4% had primary or further level education, and that 48% were consanguineously married. Adolescents were found to have married within an average of 3,5 years after their first periods, and within an average of 16,9±1,2 age, and to have gotten pregnant in an average of 3 months after getting married. Half of the adolescents with multiple pregnancies were identified to have repeat pregnancies within one year after the first birth. 20,8% of the adolescents did not receive any prenatal care and 24,8% continued smoking during pregnancy. Of the pregnant women, 71,2% did not use iron preparations, and 38,5% were found to be anemic. Of the pregnancies monitored, 84,8% ended in natural births, while 12% ended in caesarian births, while 2,4% resulted in miscarriage, and 0,8% ended in stillbirths. Incidence of prematurity was 7,4% in adolescent mothers and the rate of infants born with law birth weight was 11,7%. The relation between pregnancy durations of less than 37 weeks and birth complication was considered significant. Sixty percent of the pregnant women did not make any changes in their nutritional habits during pregnancy, and consequently, 40% of adolescents had poor pregnancy weight gain. Conclusion: Marriage in adolescence brings along adolescent pregnancy, which puts child and maternal health at risk. Assuming that adolescent marriages cannot be prevented, studies aiming postponing adolescent pregnancies should be attached importance in especially primary health centers, and awareness on reproductive health, family planning, and nutrition should be created among adolescents.
Keywords : Adolescence, pregnancy, birth