title: Risk of poor pregnancy outcomes: is it higher among multiparous teenage mothers?
abstract: It is commonly believed that pregnancy outcomes for multiparous teenage mothers are worse than those for teenage women experiencing a first birth. This article, based on a review of the literature, finds that when teenage mothers having a second birth are compared with those having a first birth, the second births often have worse outcomes. However, when the first and second birth to the same mother are compared, teenagers follow the pattern of older women, i.e., the second births usually have better outcomes than the first. This difference is probably due to selection bias.
authors.affiliation: Institute for Child, Youth, and Family Policy, The Heller School for Social Policy and Management, Brandeis University, Waltham, Massachusetts 02454-9110, USA. klerman@brandeis.edu
authors.forename: Lorraine V
authors.initials: LV
authors.lastname: Klerman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008137:Longitudinal Studies; D010298:Parity; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D012307:Risk Factors