Risks of teenage pregnancy

The risks of a teenage pregnancy include:

• Pre-eclampsia and eclampsia;
• Premature birth;
• Baby with low weight or undernourished;
• Complications in childbirth, which can lead to a cesarean;
• Urinary or vaginal infection;
• Increased risk of postpartum depression;
• Increased risk of rejection to the baby.

Besides the age, the weight of the adolescent also can pose a risk, since a teenager who weighs less than 45 kilos, without being pregnant is more likely to generate a small baby for gestational age.

Obesity also poses a risk because it increases the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure during pregnancy. If the height of the adolescent is less than 1.60 cm, there is a greater probability of having a small hip, which increases the chances of preterm labor and give birth to a very small baby due to intrauterine growth retardation.

To prevent unwanted pregnancies, teens should use the condom in close contact and go to the gynecologist's office for girls and the urologist in the case of boys so that doctors can tell how to correctly use contraceptive methods.

Useful links:

• Teenage pregnancy

• Contraceptive methods