CLINICAL AND SOCIAL IMPACT OF BRAZILIAN TEENAGE PREGNANCY

Abstract

Objectives: To verify the correlation between low birth weight, prematurity, number of prenatal visits and type of delivery and maternal age (Adolescents versus young adults), in the city of Salvador – Bahia, Brazil; and in the whole Brazilian territory, in 2011. Methods: Population based study, descriptive and comparative, based on secondary data available in the database of the Information System on Live Births (SINASC), which was generated by the Department of the Health System of Brazil (DATASUS). The group analyzed comprises all the newborn children of parturients aged between 10 and 34 years. The variables were categorized as: maternal age (10-14; 15-19 and 20-34 years-old); delivery route (vaginal or cesarean); birthweigh (< 2,500g; between 2,500g and 3,999g; ≥ 4000g); number of prenatal visits (None, 1 to 6, ≥ 7). Results: There was a downward trend in vaginal delivery, in Salvador and in Brazil, among the three groups analyzed. Prematurity rates (<37 weeks) as well as low birth weight rates (< 2,500g) in Salvador were higher than those in Brazil in both age groups studied. In Brazil, the rates of individuals who attended the ideal minimum number of prenatal care program were 42.1% among adolescents (10-14 years old) and 65.4% among young adults (20-34 years old) women. In Salvador, those rates were 15% and 19%, respectively. Conclusion: Pregnant adolescents from Brazil, and Salvador also, had higher rates of prematurity, low birth weight and lower adherence to prenatal care program compared with women in the age range considered ideal for pregnancy.