[Prevalence of risk factors for obstetric complications in adolescents Comparison with the adult population].

Ten percent of the pregnancies at Tijuana General Hospital occur in adolescents. We had the hypothesis, based on literature, that teen pregnancy is associated to a higher rate of obstetrical complications; so this study was designed to determine the risk factors and rate of complications in this group, and to compare the results with those in our adult population. A cross-sectional study was conducted with two groups: one included pregnant subjects under 18 years of age; the other included pregnant women ages 18 through 32. Three hundred and one subjects were included in each group. A significantly higher proportion of the adolescent subjects were single or had a couple but were not married. The adolescents reported sexual activity at an earlier age (almost three years earlier), and use contraception methods significantly less than the adult subjects. Both groups received insufficient prenatal care, but this figure was very low in the adolescent group (only 33% received prenatal care). Contrary to the reports in the literature from developed countries, the adolescent group presented with a significantly lower rate of obstetric complications when compared with the adult population, except to abortions, of which adolescents had a higher rate.