Comparative Study of Teenage Pregnancy in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital

Abstract

Teenage pregnancy is a topic that will need to be revisited time and again because of the continuously evolving and changing social and moral norms in different parts of the world. This informed a comparative study of the obstetric performance of primiparous teenagers and nonteenage primiparas within a two-year period (1st January, 2006-31st December, 2007) in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital,Ikeja. Fifty six(56) case notes of teenagers who delivered in this hospital were available for analysis. Three hundred and thirty (330) non-teenage primiparous case notes were selected with ages ranging from 20 and 36 years using stratified random sampling, out of which two hundred and ninety five (295) case notes were suitable for analysis. The incidence of teenage pregnancy in the study population was 1.01% with majority of them in the age range 17 to 19 years. Pregnancy and delivery complications that were commoner and statistically significant in the teenagers were hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (x²=7.07 p=0.0078), anaemia in pregnancy([x²=5.71,p =0.0168) and cephalopelvic disproportion ( x²=4.54, p=0.0330). The mode of delivery that was statistically significant was lower segment caesarean section ( x² =4.64, p=0.0297). The incidence of complications were more in the teenage mothers who were unbooked for antenatal care. Irrespective of the problems peculiar to primiparas, teenagers have been shown to be at increased risk of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, anaemia, cephalopelvic disprorportion and caesarean section. They will therefore require additional efforts and resources to manage them to ensure a favourable pregnancy outcome. Prevention of teenage pregnancy will go a long way in reducing the incidence.

Keywords: Teenage, Pregnancy, complications, developing country

Nigerian Medical Practitioner Vol. 63 No 1-2, 2013