title: Acute abdomen in infants of adolescent mothers: diagnostic challenges.
abstract: Caring for children of adolescent parents presents unique challenges. Because adolescent parents may lack parenting skills and knowledge of medical terminology, symptoms of life-threatening illnesses may be misinterpreted. We present two cases of unexpected acute abdomen in young infants with adolescent mothers. The first case involves midgut volvulus, which was discovered during a routine newborn visit. The second case, involving pyloric stenosis, presented a clinical management challenge when the adolescent mother refused diagnostic studies.
authors.affiliation: Division of General Pediatrics, Children's Hospital Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. carmon.davis@tch.harvard.edu
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Davis
authors.forename: P J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Burke
authors.forename: J E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Braunstein
mesh_terms: D000006:Abdomen, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing; D000293:Adolescent; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007415:Intestinal Obstruction / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing / Q000601:surgery; D016487:Parenting; D011368:Professional-Family Relations; D011707:Pyloric Stenosis / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000451:nursing / Q000601:surgery; D013997:Time Factors