Miscarriage but not stillbirth rates are higher among younger nulliparas in rural Southern Nepal.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the impact of young maternal age on miscarriages and stillbirths in rural Southern Nepal.


METHODS
Pregnancies, miscarriages, and stillbirths were prospectively identified in two randomized trials of maternal micronutrient supplementation. This analysis included 5861 women of parity 0 (nulliparas) and 4459 of parity 1 (primiparas) who were <26 years of age.


RESULTS
Among nulliparous women, 5.7% and 4.6% of pregnancies ended in miscarriage and stillbirth. The adjusted relative risk of miscarriage was 2.07 for girls <15 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.17-3.66) compared with those 18 and 19 years, and was 1.40 (95% CI = 1.06-1.84) among those 15-17 years. Stillbirth rates did not differ significantly by maternal age. There were no differences in miscarriage or stillbirth rates by maternal age among primiparas.


CONCLUSIONS
Young maternal age increased the risk of miscarriages but not stillbirths for nulliparas. Miscarriages and stillbirths did not differ by maternal age for primiparous women.
Katz
Joanne
J
Department of International Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland 21205-2103, USA. jkatz@jhsph.edu
Khatry
Subarna K
SK
LeClerq
Steven C
SC
Shrestha
Sharada R
SR
West
Keith P
KP
Christian
Parul
P
D000022:Abortion, Spontaneous / Q000453:epidemiology*; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008423:Maternal Age; D009390:Nepal / Q000453:epidemiology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012424:Rural Population