Lessons for prevention and intervention in adolescent pregnancy: a five-year comparison of outcomes of two programs for school-aged pregnant adolescents.
Adolescent fertility control has been linked with educational completion and long-term economic success. This study evaluated the effect of short-term prenatal intervention on selected maternal and child indexes with first-time pregnant adolescents. Birth patterns were examined over a 5-year period for three groups (N = 216) of adolescents who received varying amounts of prenatal intervention for the index birth. No significant differences between groups were found on number of subsequent births within 5 years, mean time between births, graduation from high school, gestational age, or mean birth weight of infants. Age at first birth was a predictor of the number of subsequent births and subsequent graduation from high school. Grade in school at first pregnancy and total number of births in 5-years were related to high school graduation. Findings support the need for continued intensive community-based collaborative intervention for adolescent mothers during the 5 years after the index birth, the peak childbearing years for these women.
Jones
M E
ME
Mondy
L W
LW
D000293:Adolescent; D001721:Birth Intervals; D001724:Birth Weight; D003153:Community Health Services; D005193:Family Planning Services; D005260:Female; D005865:Gestational Age; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D011295:Prenatal Care; D012572:School Health Services; D013246:Sterilization, Tubal; D013781:Texas