Childbirth in the Adolescent Female at the General Hospital of Loandjili (Congo)

Objective: To contribute to the knowledge of the characteristics of teenage birth. Patients and Methods: Retrospective, descriptive and comparative studies, from February 1st 2014 to April 31st 2015, carried out in the Obstetrics and Gynecology Department General Hospital of Loandjili. Included were births of less than 18 years of age at the end of a pregnancy of at least 22 weeks of amenorrhea on the one hand, and adults aged 18 and over, who had given birth at the same end of the pregnancy immediately after the teenager. Thus two populations consisted of 170 cases each. The parameters studied were: Sociodemographic, clinical and prognostic characteristics. Results: During this period, 4190 patients had given birth to 4341 births. Among them, 170 teenage girls are 4%. The average age of teenagers in our study was 16.2 years with a 17-year-age, versus 28.2 years for adults. The average parity was 1.19. While in adults, multiparity was represented at 45.89% with an average parity of 3.19. The average number of prenatal consultations (ANC) was 2.89 for adolescent girls and 31.2% had not been performed. By cons in adults, it was 4.23. These ANCs were started in teenage girls with an average of 22 weeks at the first ANC, while adults started on average at 18 weeks. The average delivery time was 38 weeks of amenorrhea for both populations. Thirty-four cases of premature newborns from adolescent mothers were observed, compared with 14 in adult mothers (p 0.05). The delivery mode was low in 66% of adolescent girls versus 75% of adults. Indications for caesarean section in adolescents were represented by complications of arterial hypertension (38.59%), followed by mechanical dystocia. While in adults, cervical dystocia and scar uteri were the most represented. During this study period, no maternal deaths were recorded among adolescent girls. Characteristics of the newborn: the condition of the newborn at birth was good according to the rating of Apgar among teenagers in 91%, and in adults in 96.5% and, with a birth weight at teenage girls normal in 74% versus 88% in adults. Low birth weight and prematurity were reported with a statistically significant difference in adolescent girls.