Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the mode of delivery and birthweight among teenagers in comparison to adult pregnant Saudi women.
This was a retrospective comparative study. We included all primigravid teenage girls aged 19 years or younger and adult women aged 20-29 years with singleton term normal pregnancies who delivered at Hail Maternity Hospital during 1 January-31 December 2013.
Incidence of vaginal delivery among teenagers was higher than that in adults, at 105 (80.2%) and 588 (70.5%), respectively. There was a lower incidence of vacuum extraction and cesarean section among the teenage group compared to the adult group (1 [0.8%] vs 25 [3.0%], and 25 [19.1%] vs 221 [26.5%], respectively [P > 0.05]). Incidence of low birthweight among the teenage group was higher than that in adults (28 [21.4%] and 84 [10.1%], respectively [P < 0.05]).
Our study concluded that teenage pregnancy is associated with a high risk of low birthweight (P < 0.05). Adult mothers experienced more cesarean section and vacuum extraction deliveries (P > 0.05). Adequate antenatal care, community education and raising awareness might decrease the number of teenage pregnancies, which was 13.6% in our study.