Maternal and perinatal outcome in adolescent and adult primigravida

Abstract

Background: Improving maternal and child health is prioritized globally; however, adolescent pregnancies remain the prime one among the many obstacles. The study aimed to determine the maternal and perinatal outcomes in adolescent and adult primigravida.
 Methodology: This cross-sectional study was carried out between 1st December 2018 to 30th November 2019, over a sample of 487 pregnant women (primigravida), presenting at the Jinnah Medical College Hospital, Karachi, for childbirth/delivery. The patients were categorized as adolescents (aged ≤19 years) and labelled as group A and adults (aged 20-34 years) labelled as group B, comprising 83 and 404 patients. Data were recorded using a structured questionnaire containing details pertaining to socio-demographic characteristics, labour, delivery and immediate postpartum period complications of pregnancy. The data was analyzed using SPSS version 23.0.
 Results: A total of 1738 deliveries were completed in the study duration at Jinnah Medical College Hospital, Karachi. The mean age of the women was 18.35 ± 0.06 years, and the modal age was 27 years. The mean gestational age of the women was 36.86 ± 2.15 weeks among teens and 38.55 ± 0.55 weeks among adults. The incidence of adverse outcomes was higher among maternal [anemia; 46.9% (p-value 0.05)] and perinatal [preterm delivery (20%), low birth weight (22%), stillbirth (11.5%) and perinatal mortality (10%); p<0.05] was higher among teens.
 Conclusion: It is concluded that teenage pregnancies are comparatively riskier than adult pregnancies for the child and the mother, as is apparent from the significant

Nutritional status among pregnant adolescents at maternity teaching hospital

“…Early marriage, poor educational levels, low levels of sexual education and contraceptive use, and a high prevalence of poverty are all key variables in the rate of adolescent pregnancy in some traditional rural communities 3 . Adolescent pregnancy is typically seen as a high-risk group, with implications not only for the mother's emotions, education, and financial condition, but also for the mother's, child's, and community's health as a whole 4 .…”

“…Because MUAC has been shown to be closely related to maternal weight in studies, it has been suggested as a useful tool for screening maternal nutrition status and as a potential indicator of low birth weight (LBW), neonatal mortality, and morbidity, when weighing pregnant women is not possible 15 . Few studies focused on the detection of the best anthropometric indicators as predictors of pregnancy outcomes with greater sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy 4 .…”