Abstract:
Adolescents present with unusual reproductive health, anatomical, psychological, and social characteristics, a situation that
predisposes them high-risk pregnancies, necessitating prioritized obstetric services. Therefore, this study compared
maternal and fetal outcome between adolescent (15–19 years) and adult (20-30years) pregnant mothers who delivered at
Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Western Kenya. It adopted a six-month (1st July to 31st December 2021)
prospective case-control study (ratio 1:3) among 836 (209 adolescents and 627 adult mothers) expectant mothers admitted
at MTRH labour ward for delivery services. Maternal sociodemographic and reproductive characteristics data were collected
using an interviewer administered questionnaire. Additionally, pregnancy outcomes data were collected after delivery and
documented in the same questionnaire. Statistically, mean and frequencies, tests of association (Fisher’s exact tests), risk
ratios and multivariate logistic regression were conducted. Out of 836 participants, 547 (65.4%) were married (54
adolescents and 493 adults) and 289 (34.6%) were single. Level of education was distributed as primary (17.9%; n = 150),
secondary (42.5%; n = 355) and Tertiary (39.5%; n = 330) with majority (56.3%: n = 112) of the adolescents being students.
The mean antenatal visits were 3.960 ± 1.721 with more than two-thirds (68.1%) attending at least 4 visits. Adolescent
mothers were signicantly (p < 0.001) more likely (OR = 4.952; 95% CI: 3.313, 7.402) not to have used contraception prior to
the current pregnancy, at risk of anaemia at labour (p = 0.008), hypertension in pregnancy (p = 0.011), preterm labour (p =
0.011), perineal trauma (p = 0.004) and having newborns with a low 5-minute Apgar score (RR = 1.601; 95% CI: 1.179, 2.174).
In conclusion, expectant adolescent mothers have a signicantly increased risk of adverse maternal and fetal outcomes
compared to adults, warranting targeted obstetric care.