Low birthweight babies: socio-demographic and obstetric characteristics of adolescent mothers at Kenyatta National Hospital, Nairobi.
OBJECTIVE
To compare some socio-demographic and obstetric factors between adolescent mothers (aged below 20 years) and older mothers of low birthweight (birthweight < 2000 gm) babies.


METHODS
Cross sectional descriptive study.


METHODS
The Newborn Unit of the Kenyatta National Hospital.


RESULTS
Sixty nine adolescent mothers and 73 older mothers were studied. Adolescent mothers were more likely to be unmarried (p = 0.0001) have less formal education (p < 0.0001) be unemployed and be primigravida (76.5% compared to 36% of older mothers). Although the obstetric factors of antenatal clinic attendance, premature rupture of the membranes, pre-eclamptic toxaemia, infections and interventronal delivery tended to be more frequent among the adolescent mothers, non of these differences were significant probably due to the small numbers of patients studied.


CONCLUSIONS
This study does suggest mothers of very low birthweight babies tend to have unfavourable socio-demographic and obstetric factors like being single parents having less formal education, being unemployed and having obstetric risks for poor pregnancy outcome.
Wasunna
A
A
Department of Paediatrics and Child Health, Faculty of Medicine, College of Health Sciences, University of Nairobi, P.O Box 19676. Nairobi, Kenya.
Mohammed
K
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D004651:Employment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005322:Premature Rupture of Fetal Membranes / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007230:Infant, Low Birth Weight; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007630:Kenya / Q000453:epidemiology; D017533:Marital Status / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D008423:Maternal Age; D010298:Parity; D011225:Pre-Eclampsia / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011251:Pregnancy Complications, Infectious / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000191:economics / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012307:Risk Factors; D015406:Single Parent / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors