To the young mother, pregnancy can be a health risk. A young woman is usually not ready for childbirth until she is at least 18 years old. Yet approximately 15 million young women ages 15 to 19 give birth every year, accounting for more than 10% of all babies born worldwide. Pregnancy is much more dangerous for teens - four times riskier than for 25 to 29 year olds. For girls ages 10 to 14, maternal mortality rates maybe five times higher than for women in their early twenties, and their children are also more likely to fall sick or die in infancy.

Biological and socio-economic factors, including physical immaturity, poverty, lack of education and lack of access to appropriate medical care, increase an adolescent’s risk of pregnancy-related complications. Adequate pre-natal care and nutrition are of particular importance for young mothers.

Very often, young pregnant women face severe social problems. Many girls find themselves mothers on their own without responsible fathers for their child. Women who become mothers during their teens generally end up with less education and fewer job opportunities. This, in turn, exposes them to greater risk of poverty. In a minority of cases, this may also work the other way around: getting pregnant and being supported by a man can be a survival mechanism for a poor, uneducated woman.

The infant of a teen mother faces greater risks than a child born to a mother in her twenties. The child is more likely to be hurt during delivery or to have low birth weight. In addition, when pregnancy has adversely impacted the mnother’s life opportunities, the child is more likely to suffer from poor nutrition, as well as late physical and cognitive development. These setbacks can lead to the child having learning problems when compared to peers.

UNFPA and Adolescents. United Nations Population Fund. New York, NY.