Fetomaternal outcomes in teenage pregnancy: A prospective observational study from a tertiary care centre in southern Odisha.
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51168/d4msy268Keywords:
Teenage pregnancy, adolescent pregnancy, fetomaternal outcome, anemia, preterm labour, low birth weight, lower segment caesarean section, OdishaAbstract
Background:
Teenage pregnancy remains a major public health concern in developing countries, associated with increased maternal and neonatal morbidity and mortality.
Methods:
This prospective observational study was conducted in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur, Odisha, from March 2024 to September 2025. A total of 362 pregnant adolescents aged 13–19 years were enrolled. Data on sociodemographic profile, obstetric complications, mode of delivery, and neonatal outcomes were collected and analysed.
Results:
The incidence of teenage pregnancy was 2.82 per 12,800 obstetric admissions. Most participants were aged 18–19 years (85.36%), from rural areas (70.16%), and unbooked (84.53%). Anemia (77.90%) was the most common complication, followed by hypertensive disorders (19.06%) and preterm labour (25.97%). Vaginal delivery occurred in 60.22%, while lower segment caesarean section (LSCS) was performed in 30.94%. Among 314 live births, 30.25% were low birth weight, 35.35% required NICU admission, and neonatal mortality was 1.59%.
Conclusion:
Teenage pregnancy is associated with significant fetomaternal complications, particularly anemia and preterm birth.
Recommendation:
Strengthening adolescent health education, delaying the age at marriage, improving access to antenatal care, and implementing nutritional interventions are essential to reducing adverse outcomes.
References
1. World Health Organization. Adolescent Pregnancy: Issues in Adolescent Health and Development. Geneva: WHO; 2004.
2. Tabassum S, Tabassum S. Maternal and fetal outcome in teenage pregnancy. Pak J Med Health Sci. 2014;8(3):682-685.
3. WHO. Guidelines on Preventing Early Pregnancy and Poor Reproductive Outcomes Among Adolescents in Developing Countries. Geneva: WHO; 2011.
4. UNFPA. Adolescent Pregnancy: A Review of Evidence. New York: United Nations Population Fund; 2013.
5. Mayor S. Pregnancy and childbirth are leading causes of death in teenage girls in developing countries. BMJ. 2004;328:1152. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.328.7449.1152-a
6. World Health Organization. World Health Statistics 2023. Geneva: WHO; 2023.
7. Das Gupta S, Mukherjee S, Singh S, Pande R, Basu S. Knot ready: Lessons from programs and policies to delay marriage for girls in India. Washington DC: ICRW; 2008.
8. Pathak KB, Ram F. Adolescent motherhood: problems and consequences. J Fam Welfare. 1993;39(1):17-23.
9. Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), WHO. Child, Early, and Forced Marriage Legislation in 37 Asia Pacific Countries. IPU/WHO; 2016.
10. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS), ICF. National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), 2015-16: India. Mumbai: IIPS; 2017.
11. Klein, L. Antecedents of teenage pregnancy. Clin Obstet Gynecol. 1978;21(4):1151-1159.
12. https://doi.org/10.1097/00003081-197821040-00018
13. Khashan AS, Baker PN, Kenny LC. Preterm birth and reduced birthweight in first and second teenage pregnancies. BMC Pregnancy Childbirth. 2010;10:1. https://doi.org/10.1186/1471-2393-10-36
14. Kumar A. Outcome of teenage pregnancy. Indian J Pediatr. 2007;74:927-931. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12098-007-0171-2
15. Yasmin G, Kumar A, Parihar B. Teenage pregnancy-its impact on maternal and fetal outcome. Int J Sci Study. 2014;1(6):9-13.
16. Devi G, Poovathi M. Study of fetomaternal outcome of teenage pregnancy in a tertiary care hospital. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2019;8(1). https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20185444
17. Okram SD, Reddy KM, Samykta N, Sadvika P, Betha K. Prevalence of teenage pregnancy and pregnancy outcome at a rural teaching hospital in India. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2019;8(2):613-616. https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20190293
18. International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS). National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5) 2019-21: India Fact Sheet. Mumbai: IIPS; 2021.
19. Amoghashree, Pradeep TS, Kulkarni P, Narayana Murthy MR. Adolescent mothers: determinants and dimensions. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2017;4(4). https://doi.org/10.18203/2394-6040.ijcmph20171332
20. Dutta I, et al. Antenatal care utilisation and associated maternal and neonatal outcomes. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2014.
21. Chahande MS, Jadhao AR, Wadhva SK, Ughade S. Study of some epidemiological factors in teenage pregnancy-hospital-based case comparison study. Indian J Community Med. 2002;27(3).
22. Toteja GS, Singh P, Saxena BN. Prevalence of anemia among pregnant women and adolescent girls in 16 districts of India. Public Health Nutr. 2006;27(4):311-315. https://doi.org/10.1177/156482650602700405
23. Banerjee B, Pandey GK, Dutt D, Sengupta B, Mondal M, Deb S. Teenage pregnancy: a socially inflicted health hazard. Indian J Community Med. 2009;34(3):227-231. https://doi.org/10.4103/0970-0218.55289
24. Nair A, Devi S. Obstetric outcome of teenage pregnancy in comparison with pregnant women of 20-29 years. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2015;4(5). https://doi.org/10.18203/2320-1770.ijrcog20150703
25. Jain P, Gupta P, Sharma R. Maternal outcome in teenage pregnancy. Indian J Obstet Gynecol Res. 2019;6(4):515-519. https://doi.org/10.18231/j.ijogr.2019.061
26. Ganchimeg T, Ota E, Morisaki N, et al. Pregnancy and childbirth outcomes among adolescent mothers: a World Health Organization multicountry study. BJOG. 2014;121(Suppl 1):40-48. https://doi.org/10.1111/1471-0528.12630
27. Marimuthu K, Sivamanju S. A study on clinical profile and outcome of preterm neonates in a tertiary care hospital. Int J Contemp Pediatrics. 2022;9(4):342-347.
28. Rita D, Naik K, Desai RM, Tungal S. Study of fetal-maternal outcome of teenage pregnancy at a tertiary care hospital. Int J Reprod Contracept Obstet Gynecol. 2016;5(11):3671-3674.
29. Emani V, Shetty S. Clinical profile of late preterm infants in a tertiary care hospital. J Clin Diagn Res. 2014;8(9):PC13-PC15.
30. Dev SV, Kadambi M. Preterm births in teenage pregnancies-a retrospective study. J Clin Diagn Res. 2022;16(5):QC01-QC05.
31. Cunningham FG, Leveno KJ, Bloom SL, et al. Williams Obstetrics. 25th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2018.
32. Mukhopadhyay P, Chaudhuri RN, Paul B. Hospital-based perinatal outcomes and complications in teenage pregnancy in India. J Health Popul Nutr. 2010;28(5):494-500. https://doi.org/10.3329/jhpn.v28i5.6158
33. Saxena V, Kumar A, Sati JA, Dobhal P. Incidence of teenage pregnancy and its adverse health outcomes: a hospital-based study. Int J Community Med Public Health. 2016;3(9):2550-2554.
34. Singh KN, Khare S. Outcome in adolescent pregnancy. J Obstet Gynaecol India. 2001;51(6):34-36.
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Avasmica Toppo, Mahija Sahu, Sabyasachi Padhi, Arati Behera (Author)
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
