MATERNAL YOUTH AND PREGNANCY OUTCOMES - MIDDLE SCHOOL VERSUS HIGH-SCHOOL AGE-GROUPS COMPARED WITH WOMEN BEYOND THE TEEN YEARS

OBJECTIVE: We sought to measure and compare pregnancy complications in middle school versus high school versus older maternal age groups. ST UDY DESIGN: From January 1988 through December 31, 1991, maternal and infant data from 16,512 consecutive nulliparous women were collected a nd electronically stored. These women were divided into three study gr oups: middle school (11 to 15 years old), high school (16 to 19 years old), and women 20 to 22 years old at delivery. Statistical analysis i ncluded logistic regression to control for potentially confounding dem ographic variables. RESULTS: Middle school-aged mothers were dispropor tionately black (50% vs 36% Hispanic vs 14% white), and very low birth weight (4% vs. 2%, p = 0.003) was increased in these youthful mothers . First births to high school-aged mothers were not found to be compro mised compared with those of women 20 to 22 years old, and, indeed, ce sarean birth was less frequent in these women compared with those grea ter than or equal to 20 years old. CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that the h ealth hazard associated with school-age pregnancy is predominantly pre maturity and is increased only in middle school-aged mothers. High sch ool-aged mothers do not experience excess medical complications of pre gnancy compared with older women. We suggest that middle school pregna ncy, particularly for inner-city teenagers, should be a special focus for pregnancy prevention and intervention.