title: Has improved health care provision impacted on the obstetric outcome in teenage women?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the obstetric outcome in teenage women managed in the recent decade with easily accessible health care provision.
  
  
  METHODS
  In a retrospective cohort study, maternal demographics, underlying medical conditions, obstetric complications, preterm birth, type of labor, mode of delivery, and perinatal mortality were compared between 1505 women aged ≤ 19 years (study group) with 10,320 women aged 20-24 years (comparison group), who were carrying singleton pregnancies beyond 24 weeks of gestation and managed in our hospital between January 1998 and June 2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The study and comparison groups accounted for 2.2% and 15.1% respectively of the total deliveries. Despite comparable health status and rates of other obstetric complications, teenage women was associated with birth <34 weeks (aOR 2.45, 95% CI 1.67-3.60), birth at 34-36 weeks (aOR 2.13, 95% CI 1.71-2.65), and reduced instrumental vaginal (aOR 0.62, 95% CI 0.50-0.77) and caesarean (aOR 0.79, 95% CI 0.64-0.97) delivery, without increase in perinatal mortality.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Teenage women had increased preterm birth, despite improved health care provision, nutrition, and similar incidence of other obstetric complications, but the obstetric and perinatal outcome remained favorable.
authors.affiliation: Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, Hong Kong, PRC. lao-tt@cuhk.edu.hk
authors.forename: Terence T
authors.initials: TT
authors.lastname: Lao
authors.forename: Stephen Sik Hung
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Suen
authors.forename: Daljit S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Sahota
authors.forename: Lai
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Wa Law
authors.forename: Tak
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Yeung Leung
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003695:Delivery of Health Care / Q000379:methods / Q000592:standards*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D007744:Obstetric Labor Complications / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000401:mortality / Q000517:prevention & control; D009774:Obstetrics / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011256:Pregnancy Outcome / Q000453:epidemiology*; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011295:Prenatal Care / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D011787:Quality of Health Care; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D055815:Young Adult