Adolescent Pregnancy Diagnosis and Outcomes: A Six-Year Clinical Sample

Study Objective To explore pregnancy diagnosis, outcome choice, and time to referral appointment for adolescents. Design A descriptive study using retrospective chart review and clinical logs of all positive pregnancy tests between January 2000 and December 2005. Setting Adolescent clinic in a hospital-based academic center. Participants 625 pregnant teens were identified. Thirteen teens (2%) were lost to follow-up. Exclusion criteria included teens with advanced pregnancy, 22 weeks gestation or older at initial pregnancy diagnosis (n=11). Interventions All pregnant teens participated in a multidisciplinary tracking program. Main Outcome Measures Outcome choice and time interval to prenatal or termination appointment. Results The 601 pregnant teens had a mean age of 18.2 years with a range of 13 to 23 years. Pregnancy outcomes indicate 48.2% (N=290) opted to continue their pregnancy and entered prenatal care, 45% (N=275) chose to terminate, and 6% (N=36) experienced a miscarriage. Adolescents who continued their pregnancy presented with a mean gestational age of 7.98 weeks versus 7.20 weeks for teens choosing to terminate (P ≤ 0.001). They also had a significantly longer time interval to their referral site, averaging 24 days until a prenatal appointment, compared to 17 days for a termination (P ≤ 0.05). Conclusion Over the six-year study period, the number of adolescent pregnancies diagnosed within this clinical site remained constant. Adolescents who chose to continue their pregnancy were more likely to present later for diagnosis and experienced a longer wait time to their referral appointment for prenatal care. Pregnant adolescents may delay entry into timely reproductive health services.