Adolescent Pregnancy Outcomes Research Articles

Adverse perinatal outcomes of adolescent pregnancies in one center in Istanbul, Turkey

Purpose: The objective of this study was to evaluate fetal and perinatal outcomes of pregnancies of adolescents and compare them with adult pregnancies. Materials and Methods: This retrospective case-control study was carried out at Bakirkoy Maternity and Children’s Diseases Education and Research Hospital in Istanbul, Turkey. It enrolled 2,491 pregnancies who delivered between 2005-2010, of which 998 were adolescent pregnancies and 1,493 were adults as controls. Results: The mean age of the adolescent group was 17.10 years and in the control group the mean age was found to be 26.73 years. Intermarriage, vaginal delivery, preterm rupture of membranes, preterm birth, and preeclampsia were significantly higher in adolescent pregnancies than the control group. Gestational diabetes was more common with increasing age. There was no statistically meaningful difference between the groups in terms of intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR), low birth weight, anemia, 5-minute APGAR score, and intrauterine fetal demise. Conclusions: Young maternal age is a risk factor for preterm birth, preterm rupture of membranes, and preeclampsia. According to this study, adolescent pregnancies are more risky and more likely to have adverse fetal outcomes.

Adolescent pregnancy, nutrition, and health outcomes in low- and middle-income countries: what we know and what we don't know.

Adolescence [defined by the World Health Organization (WHO) as the time period between the ages of 10 and 19 years] is a critical period in human physical and psychosocial development when an individual progresses from an immature state to a mature state capable of reproduction. Pregnancies in this stage of life account for 23% of the burden of disease arising from pregnancy and childbirth, despite only representing 11% of all births worldwide.1 They incur increased risks for a number of adverse growth and developmental outcomes, in both the offspring (e.g. small for gestational age, SGA)2, 3 and the mother (e.g. early cessation of linear growth),4, 5 that are known to impact adversely on long‐term morbidity and mortality risk.3, 6

Neither early nor late for becoming pregnant: Comparison of the perinatal outcomes of adolescent, reproductive age, and advanced maternal age pregnancies.

Objective:To compare perinatal and short-term neonatal outcomes of adolescent, reproductive age, and advanced maternal age (AMA) pregnancies in a low-income region of İstanbul.Materials and Methods:Three hundred six adolescents, 301 reproductive age, and 303 AMA pregnant women who delivered in Süleymaniye Education and Research Hospital between January 1st 2007, and January 31st 2015, were recruited to the study population. The clinical, obstetric and short-term neonatal outcomes of the women were analyzed retrospectively.Results:Adolescent and AMA pregnancies were associated with severe adverse perinatal and short-term neonatal outcomes compared with reproductive-age women. Adolescent and AMA pregnancies had quite similar risks in obstetric outcomes. Adolescent pregnancies were related with severe adverse short-term neonatal outcomes when compared with advanced maternal age pregnancies.Conclusion:Adolescent and AMA pregnancies should be defined as high-risk pregnancies. Our research indicated that healthcare providers such as obstetricians, midwives, and family physicians should be alert in these populations.

Adverse Maternal and Neonatal Outcomes in Adolescent Pregnancy

Study ObjectiveTo investigate the outcomes of adolescent pregnancy. DesignRetrospective cohort study from the Consortium on Safe Labor between 2002 and 2008. SettingTwelve clinical centers with 19 hospitals in the United States. ParticipantsNulliparous women (n = 43,537) younger than 25 years of age, including 1189 younger adolescents (age ≤ 15.9 years), 14,703 older adolescents (age 16-19.9 years), and 27,645 young adults (age 20-24.9 years). InterventionsAdjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated, controlling for maternal characteristics and pregnancy complications (young adults as a reference group). Main Outcome MeasuresMaternal, neonatal outcomes, cesarean indications, and length of labor. ResultsYounger adolescents had an increased risk of maternal anemia (aOR = 1.25; 95% CI, 1.07-1.45), preterm delivery at less than 37 weeks of gestation (aOR = 1.36; 95% CI, 1.14-1.62), postpartum hemorrhage (aOR = 1.46; 95% CI, 1.10-1.95), preeclampsia or hemolysis, increased liver enzyme levels, and low platelet syndrome (aOR = 1.44; 95% CI, 1.17-1.77) but had a decreased risk of cesarean delivery (aOR = 0.49; 95% CI, 0.42-0.59), chorioamnionitis (aOR = 0.63; 95% CI, 0.47-0.84), and neonatal intensive care unit admission (aOR = 0.80; 95% CI, 0.65-0.98). Older adolescents had an increased risk of maternal anemia (aOR = 1.15; 95% CI, 1.09-1.22), preterm delivery at less than 37 weeks of gestation (aOR = 1.16; 95% CI, 1.08-1.25), and blood transfusion (aOR = 1.21; 95% CI, 1.02-1.43), but had a decreased risk of cesarean delivery (aOR = 0.75; 95% CI, 0.71-0.79), chorioamnionitis (aOR = 0.83; 95% CI, 0.75-0.91), major perineal laceration (aOR = 0.82; 95% CI, 0.71-0.95), and neonatal intensive care unit admission (aOR = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.83-0.96). Older adolescents were less likely to have a cesarean delivery for failure to progress or cephalopelvic disproportion (aOR = 0.89; 95% CI, 0.81-0.98). For adolescents who entered spontaneous labor, the second stage of labor was shorter (P < .01). ConclusionAdolescents were less likely to have a cesarean delivery. Failure to progress or cephalopelvic disproportion occurred less frequently in older adolescents. Adolescents who entered spontaneous labor had a shorter second stage of labor.

Gynecologic age is an important risk factor for obstetric and perinatal outcomes in adolescent pregnancies.

Adolescent pregnancy is an important public health problem. Physiological maturity affects obstetric and perinatal outcomes. Almost all assessments of adolescent pregnancies are based on chronological age. Gynecologic age (GA) is defined as age in years at conception minus age at menarche and it is an indicator of physiological maturity. To compare obstetric and perinatal outcomes between adult and adolescent pregnancies as categorized according to GA. In this retrospective study, 233 adolescent pregnant women were divided into two groups based on GA≤3 years (101 women) and GA>3 years (132 women). Their obstetric and perinatal results were compared with 202 adult pregnancies who gave birth in the same period. Gestational age at delivery, APGAR scores, birth weight, and incidence of preterm birth, admission to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU), intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight, and premature rupture of membranes were significantly different between the study groups. Compared to adolescent pregnancies with GA>3 years, adolescent pregnancies with GA≤3 years had significantly lower birth weight, gestational age, APGAR scores, and significantly higher incidence of intrauterine growth restriction, low birth weight and admission to NICU. Low GA is associated with an increased rate of obstetric and perinatal complications in adolescent pregnancies. Although the main aim is the prevention of adolescent pregnancies, a detailed evaluation of such pregnancies including determination of the gynecological age together with a multidisciplinary approach may decrease potential complications.

Adolescent Pregnancy among Ethnic Variants at Lumbini Medical College

Introduction : Adolescent pregnancy is a common social phenomenon that results to both maternal and fetal related health consequences globally. Important factors affecting this high risk group of pregnancies are social, cultural, ethnic and racial disparities which may limit the care during pregnancy thereby affecting the perinatal outcome. The main objective of this study was to estimate the maternal and fetal outcome of adolescent pregnancies visiting Lumbini Medical college among ethnic variants of mid-western region. Methods : A retrospective observational study was conducted in Lumbini Medical College and Teaching Hospital for one year duration. Data was retrieved from the medical records of the admitted adolescent pregnant mothers with hospital delivery after 20 weeks’ gestation. Variables of interest were the selective demographic characteristics like place of residence and ethnicity of women, parity, and obstetrical &fetal outcomes. Results : The total numbers of admission for deliveries during the study period were 1905, out of which 462 (24.3%) were adolescent pregnancy. A total of 184 (39%) adolescent mothers were at the age of 19 and 334 (72.2%) of them were from Palpa district. The highest number of teenagers were from Janajati group i.e. 240 (52%). Among all, 38 (10%) had preterm delivery and 7 (1.5%) had intrauterine fetal death. While 407 (88.3%) adolescent pregnancies had vaginal deliveries, 54 (11.7%)of them had lower segment cesarean section (LSCS). Fifty-one (11.4%) neonates had low birth weight (below 2500 gm)and 11 (2.4%) had stillbirths. Among the low birth weight, 32 (51%) newborns were admitted to neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Conclusions : Adolescent pregnancy is higher common in Palpa district of Nepal. Janajati adolescent girls are becoming pregnant early after marriage. Higher numbers of teenagers are 19 years of age and are primigravida. On reaching the tertiary center, obstetrical outcome is better with less maternal morbidity and no mortality and better neonatal survival. DOI: https://doi.org/10.22502/jlmc.v3i1.59

Adverse maternal and perinatal outcomes in adolescent pregnancies: The Global Network's Maternal Newborn Health Registry study.

BackgroundAdolescent girls between 15 and 19 years give birth to around 16 million babies each year, around 11% of births worldwide. We sought to determine whether adolescent mothers are at higher risk of maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes compared with mothers aged 20–24 years in a prospective, population-based observational study of newborn outcomes in low resource settings.MethodsWe undertook a prospective, population-based multi-country research study of all pregnant women in defined geographic areas across 7 sites in six low-middle income countries (Kenya, Zambia, India, Pakistan, Guatemala and Argentina). The study population for this analysis was restricted to women aged 24 years or less, who gave birth to infants of at least 20 weeks’ gestation and 500g or more. We compared adverse pregnancy maternal and perinatal outcomes among pregnant adolescents 15-19 years, <15 years, and adults 20-24 years.ResultsA total of 269,273 women were enrolled from January 2010 to December 2013. Of all pregnancies 11.9% (32,097/269,273) were in adolescents 15-19 years, while 0.14% (370/269,273) occurred among girls <15 years. Pregnancy among adolescents 15-19 years ranged from 2% in Pakistan to 26% in Argentina, and adolescent pregnancies <15 year were only observed in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America. Compared to adults, adolescents did not show increased risk of maternal adverse outcomes. Risks of preterm birth and LBW were significantly higher among both early and older adolescents, with the highest risks observed in the <15 years group. Neonatal and perinatal mortality followed a similar trend in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America, with the highest risk in early adolescents, although the differences in this age group were not significant. However, in South Asia the risks of neonatal and perinatal death were not different among adolescents 15-19 years compared to adults.ConclusionsThis study suggests that pregnancy among adolescents is not associated with worse maternal outcomes, but is associated with worse perinatal outcomes, particularly in younger adolescents. However, this may not be the case in regions like South Asia where there are decreasing rates of adolescent pregnancies, concentrated among older adolescents. The increased risks observed among adolescents seems more likely to be associated with biological immaturity, than with socio-economic factors, inadequate antenatal or delivery care.Trial registration numberNCT01073475

Obstetrical and Perinatal Outcomes of Adolescent Pregnancies in Cameroon: A Retrospective Cohort Study at the Yaound&amp;#233; General Hospital

Background: Adolescent pregnancy is a serious health and social problem worldwide as well as in Cameroon. The aim of this study was to determine the obstetrical and perinatal outcomes of nulliparous adolescent pregnancies in a reference hospital in Cameroon. Methods: A retrospective cohort study to compare the outcomes of nulliparous adolescent pregnancies to those of nulliparous women aged 20 to 25 years was carried out at the Yaoundé General Hospital between January 1993 and December 2012. Results: Adolescent deliveries represented 2.84% (331 deliveries) of all deliveries registered during the study period. The adolescent mothers had a significantly higher incidence of preeclampsia/eclampsia, preterm delivery and low birth weight babies (st and 5th minutes), the rate of admission in the neonatal intensive care unit, stillbirth and neonatal death. Conclusion: Adolescent pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of preeclampsia/ eclampsia, preterm birth and low birth weight.

Obstetric and neonatal outcomes of adolescent pregnancy.

OBJECTIVE:We performed a retrospective study to evaluate adolescent pregnancies as for gestational complications, and prinatal outcomes.METHODS:We evaluated 341 pregnants whose data we could reach regarding gestational, and perinatal complications.RESULTS:In our study group anemia (35.4%), preeclampsia/eclampsia (1.45%), premature membrane rupture (1.4%), intrauterine growth retardation (3.81%), and instrumental delivery (0.3%) were seen in indicated incidence rates.CONCLUSION:In our retrospective study, we found lower our complication rates in adolescent age group when compared with the adult age group, and other studies performed in adolescents. Since our hospital is a tertiary health care institute, and we monitorized our patients closely, our incidence rates can be better than those cited in the literature. As long as proper antenatal surveillance is employed, adolescent mothers do not seem to have increased risk for most of obstetric complications.

PO-0901 Neonatal Outcomes Of Adolescent Pregnancies In A Secondary Level Maternity Hospital In Romania

<h3>Background and aims</h3> Pregnant adolescents have high rates of poor birth outcomes, but the causes are unclear. There is a very marked association between young age of mothers and low birth weight and preterm delivery and some of the apparent effect of young maternal age on birth weight may be because the birth is likely to be the mother’s first, and first births have a higher incidence of prematurity. The aim of present study was to investigate neonatal outcomes of teenage pregnancies controlling for parity, gestational age and perinatal interventions. <h3>Methods</h3> A retrospective study comparing singleton deliveries classified into three teenage groups:12–15, 15–17, 18–19, and a comparison group of 24–29 years was performed in a secondary level Maternity Hospital in Mures County, Romania. For the adult group, 736 charts of mothers between the age of 24 and 29 delivering singleton babies were selected. <h3>Results</h3> The study population consisted of 1 131 women, 75 12–15 years old, 163 16–17 years old, 157 18–19 years old, and 736 24–29 years old. A significant linear association was found between maternal age and preterm birth, low birth weight, and neonatal birth related trauma. Length of hospitalisation, as a marker of the healthcare costs involved in the care of these high risk cases, was significant associated with maternal age after controlling for perinatal interventions. <h3>Conclusions</h3> Teenage pregnancy is a risk factor for low birth weight, preterm delivery, neonatal birth related trauma and high healthcare costs.

Labour Outcome in Adolescent Pregnancy

Adolescent pregnancy is associated with increased risk of developing complications in both adolescent mother and neonates. It may lead to significant maternal and perinatal mortality and morbidity. To evaluate the labour outcome in adolescent and adult mothers' immediately after delivery and compare the result. A cross sectional comparative study was performed over a period of one year (September 2009- August 2010) at the obstetrics department of Chittagong Medical College Hospital. Consecutive three hundred pregnant mothers admitted for delivery that was fulfilled the inclusion criteria included in study group. Among them 150 were adolescent (13-19yrs) belongs to group A and 150 was adult (20-29 yrs) belongs to group B. Labour outcome (prolonged or obstructed, mode of delivery, stillbirth, birth weight and birth asphyxia were recorded on a preformed questionnaire and statistical analysis done by using SPSS package for windows version 12. Adolescent mother has significant lower mean age at delivery than adults (18.61872 vs. 23.87 = 2.8 yrs. P&lt; 001).Antenatal check up were also (10% vs. 26%, P &lt; 001) infrequent in them. Spontaneous vaginal delivery significantly less (34.7% vs. 48%, P &lt;03) and Caesarean section and instrumental deliveries higher (59.3% vs. 48% &amp; 6% vs. 2.6%.P &lt;03 respectively) in adolescent. Stillbirth and neonatal death also more (3.3% vs. 1.3 &amp; 10% vs. 4.66%, P &lt; 049 respectively) and birth weight less (2.7 kg vs. 2.88 kg, P &lt;0.019) in group A in comparison with group B. Incidence of low birth weight and asphyxia higher in adolescent (12.4% vs. 5.4%, P &lt;03 &amp; 20% vs. 14.9% P&lt;.024). Operative deliveries, stillbirth, birth asphyxia, low birth weight and neonatal death rate significantly higher in adolescent mothers where vaginal delivery significantly less in them in comparison with adult mothers. It indicates that adolescent pregnancy was associated with adverse labour outcome.&#x0D; JCMCTA 2014 ; 25 (1): 22-26

Personality and adolescent pregnancy outcomes

To examine the relationship between personality, pregnancy and birth outcomes in adolescents. Personality has been shown to be a strong predictor of many health outcomes. Adolescents who become pregnant have worse birth outcomes than adults. Cross-sectional study using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (baseline, 1994-1995; follow-up, 2007-2008). The study sample was 6529 girls, 820 of whom reported on pregnancy outcomes for a teenage birth. Personality data were taken from the Mini International Personality Item Pool personality tool, which measures the five-factor personality traits of neuroticism, conscientiousness, intellect/imagination, extraversion and agreeableness. Logistic regression was used to predict teen pregnancy and linear regression was used to predict birth weight and gestational age with adjustment for confounders and stratification by race. Agreeableness and intellect/imagination were associated with a reduced likelihood of becoming pregnant as an adolescent, while neuroticism, conscientiousness and extraversion were all associated with an increased likelihood of becoming pregnant. Higher neuroticism was associated with lower birth weight and gestational age among Black girls, but not non-Black. Conscientiousness was associated with lower gestational age among non-Black girls. No relationships were found with extraversion or agreeableness and birth outcomes. Receiving late or no prenatal care was associated with higher intellect/imagination. Personality is understudied with respect to pregnancy and birth outcomes compared with other health outcomes. Such research could help professionals and clinicians design and target programmes that best fit the characteristics of the population most likely to need them, such as those with high neuroticism.

Is the Presence of a Support Person During Prenatal Ultrasound Visits Associated With Improved Pregnancy Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults?

Is the Presence of a Support Person During Prenatal Ultrasound Visits Associated With Improved Pregnancy Outcomes in Adolescents and Young Adults?

Investigation of Obstetric Outcomes of Adolescent Pregnancies in Sakarya Region

Giris: Bu calismamizda egitim ve arastirma hastanemize basvuran adolesan gebelerin gebelik sonuclarini ve komplikasyonlarin analizini yapmayi amacladik.Materyal ve Metod: Adolesan gebeler (19 yas ve alti) ve kontrol grubu olarak 20-35 yas gebeler retrospektif olarak incelendi. Calismamizda 2010-2012 yillari arasinda Sakarya Universitesi Tip Fakultesi Egitim ve Arastirma Hastanesi Kadin Hastaliklari ve Dogum Klinigi'nde dogum yapan 19 yas ve alti gebelerin prenatal muayene ve dogum dosyalari incelendi.Bulgular: Calisma grubunda 20-35 yas arasi gebe sayisi 1220 olup 77 gebe adolesan donemdeydi. Adolesan grupta dogan cocuklarin ortalama dogum agirligi 2850 gr iken kontrol grubunda 3350 gr saptandi (p= 0.0001) ayrica adolesan grupta %23 oranda dusuk dogum agirlikli bebek, kontrol grubunda ise %2.7 oranda dusuk dogum agirlikli bebek mevcuttu (p=0.001). Adolesan gebelerde sefalopelvik uygunsuzluk %16.8 oranda mevcut iken kontrol grubunda ise %3.6 oranda saptandi (p=0.0042). Ayrica sezeryan oranlari, intrauterin fetal olum, postpartum bebek olum oranlari, preterm dogum ve eklampsi oranlari bizim gebe populasyonumuzda da istatistiksel anlamli olarak daha fazla bulundu. Sonuc: Bu calismada; sefalopelvik uyumsuzluk, sezaryen oranlari, intrauterin fetal olum oranlari, preterm dogum eylemi, preklempsi ve dusuk dogum agirlikli bebek dogumlarinin adolesan gebelerde adolesan olmayan gebeliklere gore daha sik oldugu saptanmistir.

Adolescent pregnancy outcome and the impact of social support ? a pilot study from eastern Austria

Teenage pregnancies are still listed among the most important public health problems of the 21st century, although low maternal age may be a marker for social rather than biological or medical disadvantage. In the present study 51 pregnant Austrian girls ageing between 13 and 18 years (x = 16.3 yrs; +/- 1.3) who decided to give birth were enrolled. All girls were interviewed based on a structured questionnaire furthermore data from the mother-child pass port were included in the analysis. 28 girls gave birth shortly before the interview took place. Complications during pregnancy and birth were seldom and no adverse birth outcome was observed. The majority of participants received optimal medical treatment and sufficient social support from relatives and school but also from public and private institutions during pregancy. It can be concluded that social support and adequate medical treatment reduce the risk of teenage pregnancies markedly.

Obstetric outcomes in adolescent pregnancies: a racial/ethnic comparison

Objective: To examine obstetric outcomes for adolescents among the major US racial/ethnic groups.Methods: This is a retrospective cohort study of singleton births to nulliparous women aged 12 to 19 years from 1988 to 2008. The prevalence of preterm delivery, cesarean delivery, preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, low birth weight and low Apgar score were compared across African-American, Asian, Latina and White adolescents.Results: 1865 adolescents were included in the analysis. Differences between racial/ethnic groups for rates of preterm delivery, cesarean delivery and gestational diabetes were statistically significant at p < 0.05. African Americans had lower odds of preterm delivery (OR = 0.58, 95% CI [0.38–0.90]) and gestational diabetes (OR = 0.17, 95% CI [0.05–0.55]) than White adolescents. White adolescents had increased odds of cesarean delivery compared to African-American (OR = 0.69, 95% CI [0.48–0.98]), Latina (OR = 0.62, 95% CI [0.41–0.94]) and Asian adolescents (OR = 0.41, 95% CI [0.25–0.68]). Although not statistically significant, White adolescents also had higher odds of low Apgar score. In the multivariate analysis, non-White adolescents continued to have improved outcomes, except in the case of low birth weight.Conclusions: African-American, Asian and Latina adolescents may have similar or decreased risk of obstetric complications compared to White adolescents.

Adolescent Pregnancy Outcomes in the Province of Ontario: A Cohort Study

Abstract Objective Few Canadian studies have examined the association between adolescent pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes The objective of this cohort study was to characterize the association between adolescent pregnancy and specific adverse maternal, obstetrical, and neonatal outcomes, as well as maternal health behaviours. Methods We conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study of all singleton births in Ontario between January 2006 and December 2010, using the Better Outcomes Registry & Network database Outcomes for pregnant women Results This study included 551 079 singleton birth records, 23 992 (4.35%) of which derived from adolescent pregnancies. Adolescents had a higher rate of smoking and substance use than adult women and were within the lowest education and family income quintiles. Adolescents had a significantly lower risk of gestational hypertension (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 0.73) and gestational diabetes (aRR 0.34), placental abruption (aRR 0.80), and placenta previa (aRR 0.36), but their risk of preterm premature rupture of membranes was significantly higher (RR 1.16). Adolescents had a significantly higher proportion of spontaneous vaginal delivery (aRR 1.76), significantly lower rates of use of epidural analgesia (aRR 0.93), of Caesarean section (aRR 0.57), and of assisted vaginal delivery (aRR 0.76), but a significantly higher risk of emergency CS (aRR 1.31). Neonates with an adolescent mother had significantly higher risks of admission to NICU (aRR 1.08) and very preterm birth (aRR 1.16). There was no significant difference between the two groups in rates of small for gestational age babies, low birth weight, preterm birth, and fetal death. Adolescents had significantly lower rates of prenatal class attendance, prenatal visits in the first trimester, and breastfeeding. Conclusion This large Canadian cohort study confirms that, compared with adults, adolescents have improved outcomes such as lower rates of gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, antepartum hemorrhage, and operative deliveries However, adolescents also have higher sociodemographic risk factors and seek prenatal care later than adults These risk factors in combination with young age, lead to other important maternal, obstetrical, and neonatal adverse outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of multidisciplinary prenatal management in the adolescent population to address their high-risk needs, to ensure healthy pregnancies, and to reduce adverse perinatal outcomes.

Adolescent Pregnancy Outcomes in Saskatchewan

Adolescent Pregnancy Outcomes in Saskatchewan

Centering Prenatal Care: Does Group Prenatal Care Improve Adolescent Pregnancy Outcomes?

Centering Prenatal Care: Does Group Prenatal Care Improve Adolescent Pregnancy Outcomes?

Adolescent Pregnancy Outcomes in the Province of Ontario: A Cohort Study

ObjectiveFew Canadian studies have examined the association between adolescent pregnancy and adverse pregnancy outcomes The objective of this cohort study was to characterize the association between adolescent pregnancy and specific adverse maternal, obstetrical, and neonatal outcomes, as well as maternal health behaviours. MethodsWe conducted a retrospective population-based cohort study of all singleton births in Ontario between January 2006 and December 2010, using the Better Outcomes Registry & Network database Outcomes for pregnant women < 20 years of age (adolescent) were compared with those of women 20 to 35 years old (adult). ResultsThis study included 551 079 singleton birth records, 23 992 (4.35%) of which derived from adolescent pregnancies. Adolescents had a higher rate of smoking and substance use than adult women and were within the lowest education and family income quintiles. Adolescents had a significantly lower risk of gestational hypertension (adjusted relative risk [aRR] 0.73) and gestational diabetes (aRR 0.34), placental abruption (aRR 0.80), and placenta previa (aRR 0.36), but their risk of preterm premature rupture of membranes was significantly higher (RR 1.16). Adolescents had a significantly higher proportion of spontaneous vaginal delivery (aRR 1.76), significantly lower rates of use of epidural analgesia (aRR 0.93), of Caesarean section (aRR 0.57), and of assisted vaginal delivery (aRR 0.76), but a significantly higher risk of emergency CS (aRR 1.31). Neonates with an adolescent mother had significantly higher risks of admission to NICU (aRR 1.08) and very preterm birth (aRR 1.16). There was no significant difference between the two groups in rates of small for gestational age babies, low birth weight, preterm birth, and fetal death. Adolescents had significantly lower rates of prenatal class attendance, prenatal visits in the first trimester, and breastfeeding. ConclusionThis large Canadian cohort study confirms that, compared with adults, adolescents have improved outcomes such as lower rates of gestational hypertension, gestational diabetes, antepartum hemorrhage, and operative deliveries However, adolescents also have higher sociodemographic risk factors and seek prenatal care later than adults These risk factors in combination with young age, lead to other important maternal, obstetrical, and neonatal adverse outcomes. These findings highlight the importance of multidisciplinary prenatal management in the adolescent population to address their high-risk needs, to ensure healthy pregnancies, and to reduce adverse perinatal outcomes.