British Journal of General Practice, May 1997 323 Discussion paper

Teenage pregnancy and motherhood have implications for sev-eral different aspects of primary health care. First, the provision of health education and contraceptive services is obviously rel-evant to the prevention of unplanned teenage pregnancy. Secondly, appropriate obstetric care should be provided for teenagers, who are at high risk of developing complications in pregnancy and childbirth. Thirdly, and perhaps even more sig-nificantly, there is the implication of care required to deal with longer-term adverse health consequences associated with teenage pregnancy. In each of these areas, certain issues remain unresolved. This paper identifies key questions that remain unanswered, including the possibility of long-term adverse physical and psychological health consequences for teenage mothers and their children. The conclusion is that fur-ther research addressing these unresolved issues is necessary in order to inform health professionals and allow the implica-tions for primary care to be assessed