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Adolescent pregnancy

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment
• Prevention

Alternative Names:

Teenage pregnancy; Pregnancy - teenage

Treatment:

All options made available to the pregnant teen should be reviewed thoroughly.

Abortion is a potential option, but state laws vary regarding whether an unmarried teen can get an abortion legally without parental consent. In the case of married teens, the husband's consent may be required. Giving the infant up for adoption is another option.

The majority of pregnant teens choose to continue their pregnancies and keep their infants.

Early and adequate prenatal care, preferably through a program that specializes in teenage pregnancies, ensures a healthier baby. Smoking, alcohol use, and drug use should be strongly discouraged, and support should be offered to help the teen stop such behaviors.

Adequate nutrition must be encouraged through education and community resources. Appropriate exercise and adequate sleep should also be emphasized. Contraceptive information and services are important, following delivery, to deter teens from becoming pregnant again.

Pregnant teens and those who have recently given birth should be encouraged and helped to remain in school or reenter educational programs targeting skills that will enable them to provide for their child financially, emotionally, and with appropriate parenting. Accessible and affordable child care is an important factor in teen mothers continuing school or entering the work force.

Expectations (prognosis):

Having her first child during adolescence makes a woman more likely to have more children overall. Such women are also less likely to receive child support from biological fathers, less likely to complete their education, and less likely to establish independence and financial security that enables them to provide for herself and her children without outside assistance.

Married teen mothers are more likely to get divorced than married women who postpone childbearing until their 20s.

Infants born to teenage mothers are at greater risk for developmental problems. Girls born to teen mothers are more likely to become teen mothers themselves, and boys born to teen mothers have a higher-than-average rate of being arrested and jailed.

Complications:

Adolescent pregnancy is associated with higher rates of illness and death for both the mother and infant.

Pregnant teens are at much higher risk of dying or having serious medical complications such as toxemia , pregnancy-induced hypertension , significant anemia , premature delivery, or placenta previa .

Infants born to teens are 2 to 6 times more likely to have low birth weight than those born to mothers age 20 or older. Prematurity plays the greatest role in this, but intrauterine growth retardation (inadequate growth of the fetus during pregnancy) is also a factor.

Teen mothers are more likely to have unhealthy habits that place the infant at greater risk for inadequate growth, infection, or chemical dependence. The younger a mother is below age 20, the greater the risk of her infant dying during the first year of life.

It is very important for pregnant teens to have early and adequate prenatal care.

Calling your health care provider:

Make an appointment with your health care provider if symptoms of pregnancy occur.

Your health care provider can also provide counseling regarding birth control methods or pregnancy risk.

References:

U.S. Teenage Pregnancy Statistics:Overall Trends, Trends by Race and Ethnicity and State-by-State Information . New York, NY: The Alan Guttmacher Institute; 2004

• Review Date: 2/27/2006
• Reviewed By: Melanie N. Smith, M.D., Ph.D., Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

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