Social Characteristics and Obstetric Outcomes of Adolescent Mothers at Si Sa Ket Hospital in 2020

Abstract

Background and rationale: The United Nations has identified reducing the adolescent birth rate (ages 15-19) as one of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Adolescent pregnancy negatively impacts the health of both the mother and infant, as well as their education, and future earning potential.
Objectives: To study the social characteristics and obstetric outcomes of adolescent mothers who gave birth at Si Sa Ket Hospital in 2020.
Methods: This study was a descriptive cross-sectional study. The population consisted of adolescent mothers aged 15-19 who gave birth at Si Sa Ket Hospital from January to December 2020. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics.
Study results: The study included 412 adolescent mothers, with the majority being 18 years old (17.8 ± 1.4) during pregnancy. At the time of childbirth, 63.3% of them were students. The majority (51.1%) stopped attending school or dropped out. Currently, 55.3% are unemployed. The occupation of their husbands was mainly general labor (54.4%), while 18.9% were not employed and relied on parental income (45.4%). The results of obstetric outcomes showed that 19.4% of adolescent mothers gave premature births, and 18.4% had complications during pregnancy and postpartum. 21.6% of infants born to adolescent mothers had low birth weight, and 19.2% had abnormal health conditions.
Conclusion: Adolescent mothers were pregnant during their education, dropped out of school, and lost their jobs. The husbands of adolescent mothers had unstable jobs and were unemployed. Adolescent mothers’ families were still dependent on their parents. Obstetric outcomes of adolescent mothers showed that they had problems with giving premature births and had complications during pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum. Infants born to adolescent mothers had problems with low birth weight and poor health.