THE RISK OF TEEN MOTHERS HAVING LOW-BIRTH-WEIGHT BABIES - IMPLICATIONS OF RECENT MEDICAL-RESEARCH FOR SCHOOL-HEALTH PERSONNEL

This article reviews recent medical research on the relationship betwe en young maternal age and the incidence of low birth weight infants. O ne line of research, ''nature,'' emphasizes biological factors in earl y adolescence such as immaturity of the female reproductive system and inadequate prenatal weight gain. ''Nurture, '' another research focus , stresses sociocultural attributes of teen mothers such as poverty an d minority status. Young maternal age alone does not explain the highe r rates of low birth weighs infants born to adolescent females. Both b iological and sociocultural factors, plus lifestyle choices made by ad olescents, combine to raise or lower the risk of delivering a low birt h weight infant School health personnel need to link their health prom otion efforts to those of other community organizations serving adoles cents and their families.