[Causes of preterm delivery among adolescent mothers].

Objective: To describe the proportion of preterm delivery at pregnant adolescents clinic and their maternal, obstetric and fetal conditions other than spontaneous labor.

Patients And Method: Descriptive inside a cohort of consecutive cases. Preterm was defined from 20 to 36 full weeks. Maternal, obstetric and fetal conditions were defined if directly caused preterm labor or elective interruption; it was differentiated from spontaneous preterm labor.

Results: Preterm delivery rate was 10.8% (252/2326): 0.8% from 20 to 27 weeks (19/2326), 3.3% from 28 to 33 weeks (77/2326) and 6.7% from 34 to 36 weeks (156/2326). Spontaneous preterm labor presented in 39.3% (99/252); main conditions found were: rupture of the membranes 18.7% (47/252), preeclampsia-eclampsia 10.3% (26/252), twin pregnancy 10.3% (26/252), intrauterine growth restriction 5.6% (14/252) and congenital defects 5.6% (14/252). They were classified as: obstetric-type 34.9% (887252), fetal 25.4% (64/252) and maternal 0.4% (1/252). There was a 40.5% rate of vaginal delivery (102/252), with the use of forceps in 1 out of 5.

Conclusions: At purpose-built clinics using evidence-based and problem oriented interventions, that are individually adapted and continuously up-dated, a non-risk comparable preterm delivery rate can be achieved at gestational ages with better neonatal prognosis.