FETO-MATERNAL OUTCOME OF TEENAGE PREGNANCY IN PORT HARCOURT, SOUTHERN NIGERIA

Abstract

The term "teenager" is often used synonymously with "adolescent". In this sense, teenage pregnancy means pregnancy in a woman aged 10-19 years. Teenage pregnancy constitutes a major social, medical and economic problem in developed and developing countries alike. The aim of this study was to determine the maternal and fetal outcomes of teenage pregnancies at University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Port Harcourt, Nigeria. This was a retrospective study of 145 cases of booked and unbooked teenage pregnancies managed from 1st January 2008 to 31st December 2015. Malaria with 32% prevalence rate was the commonest antenatal complication. A high caesarean section rate of 30.4% was recorded as the operative intervention in alleviating fetopelvic disproportion. The commonest postpartum complication in teenage mothers (booked and unbooked) was primary postpartum haemorrhage with 9%. The most common fetal complications were birth asphyxia and low birth weight with 9% and 6.9% respectively. Maternal case fatality rate was 5.1 per 1,000 deliveries. Fetal case fatality rate was 25.6 per 1,000 deliveries. Teenage pregnancy was lower amongst booked women. Comprehensive and emergency obstetrics care, coupled with empowerment of the girl child are key to tackling this problem.