Pregnancy in Teenage Romanian Mothers

Mihaela C Radu; Loredana S Manolescu; Razvan Chivu; Corneliu Zaharia; Calin Boeru; Melania-Elena Pop-Tudose; Andrei Necsulescu; Marina Otelea

doi:10.7759/cureus.21540

Pregnancy in Teenage Romanian Mothers

Cureus. 2022 Jan 24;14(1):e21540. doi: 10.7759/cureus.21540. eCollection 2022 Jan.

Authors

Mihaela C Radu¹, Loredana S Manolescu², Razvan Chivu³, Corneliu Zaharia⁴, Calin Boeru¹, Melania-Elena Pop-Tudose⁵, Andrei Necsulescu⁶, Marina Otelea⁷

Affiliations

¹ Department of Birth, Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Ploiesti, ROU.
² Virology, Microbiology and Parasitology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, ROU.
³ Public Health and Health Management, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, ROU.
⁴ Biophysics Laboratory, Institute of Virology, Bucharest, ROU.
⁵ Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, ROU.
⁶ Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Central Military Emergency University Hospital "Dr. Carol Davila", Bucharest, ROU.
⁷ Public Health Sciences, Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Bucharest, ROU.

Abstract

Background and purpose Teenage pregnancy is associated with an increased risk of adverse pregnancy outcomes. The objective of this research is to determine the profile of the pregnant teenager and the medical complications associated with pregnancy at this young age. Materials and methods A cross-sectional study based on a 29-item questionnaire was conducted in 2019 and 2020 in Ploiești, Romania. The participants were divided into two groups, namely, Group A, consisting of 100 minor, teenage childbearing women under the age of 18, and Group B, consisting of 100 childbearing women over 18 years of age. Results Group A had a mean age of 16.56 ± 1.65. The percentage of births in very young girls (13-15 years) from group A is 28%. In 65 adolescents, sexual intercourse began at the age of 14. Pregnancy monitoring, expressed by the number of medical examinations, shows significant differences between the studied groups. The Short Assessment of Health Literacy (SAHL) test applied to both groups revealed a low level of health literacy in group A. Also in this group A, teenagers gave birth to low-birth-weight children, the percentage is statistically significant (14% vs. 4%). The gestational age in this group had an average of 36.88 ± 2.13 weeks, compared to the gestational age in the control group of 38.41 ± 1.57 weeks. In Romania, there are teenagers who became mothers at an early age. There should be educational programs in rural and urban schools and communities. Poverty leads to inadequate medical supervision with significant consequences for the health of the mother and child, lack of education (school dropout, illiteracy), and inability to find a job. The midwife can play a key role in rural communities through health education conducted on specific communication channels and with different forms of presentation of messages, adapted to their needs. A good target would be the parents of adolescent mothers and better communication with them.

Keywords: health public; medical knowledge; mothers under 18 years of age; pregnancy; risk factors.

Grants and funding

This paper has been supported by the STAMINA project, which has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 883441