The Journal of adolescent health : official publication of the Society for Adolescent Medicine
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Comparative Study
Factors associated with preterm delivery among pregnant adolescents.
The purpose was to identify characteristics of pregnant adolescents associated with preterm delivery. We studied 126 poor, black, 12 through 18-year-old pregnant adolescents and compared the prevalence of potentially high-risk maternal characteristics and obstetric complications in those who bore preterm and term infants. ⋯ Five maternal characteristics--conception within 3 years of menarche, a low body mass index, a past history of physical or sexual abuse, a socially deviant father of the baby, and vaginal bleeding during the first 8 weeks of gestation--were associated with preterm delivery. A theoretical model is proposed and the therapeutic implication of the study findings.