[Teen pregnancy in migrants: socioeconomic, gynecobstetric, and neonatal variables].
OBJECTIVE
Identify and correlate characteristics of adolescent mothers in a border city of Mexico with their migratory status.


METHODS
We surveyed post partum adolescent mothers in the discharge rooms of two public hospitals in Tijuana, Mexico. We assessed obstetric, gynecologic, socioeconomic and neonatal variables. Mothers living fewer than 5 years in the area were designated as 'migrant.'


RESULTS
324 adolescent mothers were identified; 86% had healthy babies; 27% had previous pregnancies; age of onset of sexual activity was 15.5 +/- 1.4 years. 115 (36%) were identified as 'migrant,' among whom we found they had interrupted their studies (24% vs. 33%; OR 2.62: CI 95% 1.39-4.94), had a higher incidence of failure to use contraception (74% vs. 62%; OR 1.79: C.I. 95% 1.07-3.01) and a lower incidence of prenatal care (28% vs. 38%; OR 1.8: C.I. 95% 1.04-3.15). A larger percentage of migrant adolescents already lived with their partner (39% vs. 24%; OR 2.00: C.I. 95% 1.21-3.30) and expressed a desire to become pregnant (55% vs. 37%; OR 2.10: C.I. 95% 1.31-3.37). The observed association persisted in multivariate analysis. We did not observe differences between other ob-gyn and neonatal variables.


CONCLUSIONS
Being a female migrant should be considered a risk factor in the reproductive health of adolescent mothers.
Maestría en Salud Pública, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Facultad de Medicina y Psicología, Campus Tijuana, México.
Coyolxauhqui
C
Arriaga-Romero
Ana María
AM
Valles-Medina
Abraham
A
Zonana-Nacach
Rufino
R
Menchaca-Díaz
D000293:Adolescent; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D003268:Contraception Behavior; D003625:Data Collection; D003627:Data Interpretation, Statistical; D004493:Education; D005260:Female; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008800:Mexico; D009035:Mothers; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence; D012067:Religion; D012307:Risk Factors; D012747:Sexual Partners; D015406:Single Parent; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D055815:Young Adult