Pregnancies and their obstetric outcome in two selected age groups of teenage women in Greece.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of this study was to evaluate the outcome of pregnancies in adolescents in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology of Democritus University of Thrace, North-Eastern Greece.


METHODS
We retrospectively reviewed 194 cases of adolescent pregnancies, with an average maternal age of 16.5 years, from 1st January 2006 to December 30th 2008. Socioeconomic characteristics, type of delivery and complications, such as preterm labor, preeclampsia, intra- and post-partum complications, were evaluated.


RESULTS
The median age at first intercourse was 14.2 years and the average period between first intercourse and pregnancy was 1.2 years. Most teen mothers (86.6%) did not use any contraceptive method. Among the teen mothers recruited for the study, 89.7% were married. Adolescent pregnancies accounted for 9.02% of all deliveries (2150) in our Department. In 49 (25.3%) of the pregnant adolescents, no previous pregnancy was reported. The rates of preterm birth of teen mothers were 11.3%, 41.3% and 47.4% in correlation to <32 weeks, 32-34 weeks and >34 weeks, respectively. In 95.4% of the cases, deliveries were not complicated. According to our results, the main complications, especially in very young girls, are preterm labor, anaemia, hypertensive disease, obstructed labor after premature rupture of the membranes and increased neonatal mortality and morbidity. Antenatal care is often inadequate.


CONCLUSIONS
Early teenage pregnancies have always been considered of increased risk for obstetric complications. Prevention of adolescent pregnancy, by wide use of effective contraception programs, would decrease its frequency and intensive care of pregnant adolescents may reduce the pregnancy complications.
Obstetrics and Gynecology, Democritus University of Thrace, Alexandroupolis, Greece. ptsikour@med.duth.gr
Panagiotis
P
Tsikouras
Alexandros
A
Dafopoulos
Grigorios
G
Trypsianis
Nikolaos
N
Vrachnis
Sophia
S
Bouchlariotou
Spiros Aristeidis
SA
Liatsikos
Konstantinos
K
Dafopoulos
Georgios
G
Maroulis
Georgios
G
Galazios
Alexander Tobias
AT
Teichmann
Georg-Friedrich
GF
Von Tempelhoff
D000293:Adolescent; D017677:Age Distribution; D036861:Delivery, Obstetric / Q000379:methods / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D006115:Greece / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007226:Infant Mortality; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008423:Maternal Age; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D018579:Patient Selection; D011247:Pregnancy; D011248:Pregnancy Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D012189:Retrospective Studies