Obstetric outcomes of booked teenage pregnancies at University of Calabar Teaching Hospital, Nigeria.

Background: Teenage pregnancy is high-risk and associated with complications due to adverse physiological, anatomical, and socioeconomic factors. The purpose of this study was to determine the patterns and obstetric outcomes of booked teenage pregnancies at the University of Calabar Teaching Hospital (UCTH) in Nigeria.

Methods: A retrospective comparative analysis of teenage pregnancies and mature mothers at UCTH was carried out from January 2011 to December 2011. A total of 82 teenage pregnancies and 72 mature pregnancies were compared.

Results: There were 145 teenage deliveries from a total of 2313 deliveries, ie, 6.3% of total deliveries. There was no statistically significant difference in the mode of delivery (cesarean section, spontaneous vaginal delivery, instrumental delivery) between the groups of mothers. There was also no difference in risk of complications, including obstructed labor, retained placenta, uterine atony, pre-eclampsia/eclampsia, and antepartum hemorrhage. However, teenage mothers had more perineal lacerations (P = 0.02) and more preterm labor (P = 0.05), and delivered more low-birth-weight babies (P = 0.02).

Conclusion: Supervised teenage pregnancy may not be as hazardous as previously thought.