Association between marital status and the outcome of teenage pregnancy: a retrospective review in year 2009-2012 in Hospital Ampang

Teenage pregnancy is associated with maternal and neonatal morbidity. Some postulate that it is due to biological immaturity, while others postulate that it is due to inadequate antenatal care. The objective of this study is to compare the maternal and neonatal outcome between married and unmarried teenage mothers. A retrospective study was conducted from 2009 to 2012, where mothers aged below 20 year old were included. Maternal and neonatal outcome was assessed. A total of 750 patients aged below 20 year old delivered at Hospital Ampang. The trend of teenage pregnancy decreased from 3.1% in 2009 to 2.2% in 2012. A total of 578 (77.1%) mothers were married, while 172 (22.9%) were unmarried. Being unmarried was significantly associated with unbooked (p<0.001), preterm birth (p= 0.00468), and lower birth weight (p< 0.0001, and unpaired T-Test with 95% CI -0.2607 to -0.0933). However there is no significant difference in the number of mothers with hypertensive disease (p= 0.88428), diabetes in pregnancy (p= 0.39602), mode of delivery (p= 0.055 vaginal delivery, p = 0.4419 caesarean section, and p= 0.9097 instrumental deliveries) and NICU admission (p= 0.3779) between the two groups. Unmarried teenage pregnancy is associated with a lack of antenatal care, preterm birth, and lower birth weight compared to their married counterpart