Medical Problems Specific To Teen Pregnancies, Part 2

Premature babies (aka “Preemies”) have not had enough time and nutrition for their organs to fully develop and reach a healthy weight, so they are more likely to die within the first year. Even if they live, “preemies” and low birth-weight babies (also very common among teens) are at a much higher risk of serious health problems than other babies. When I say “low birth-weight”, I'm talking about babies between 3.3 and 5.5 pounds; such babies often need intensive neonatal care to help with basic functions like breathing and heartbeat because the organs that perform these functions are not fully developed. Low birth-weight babies also have an increased risk of digestive problems, mental retardation and other cognitive difficulties. Granted, “risk” does not mean “certainty”, but the chances are high enough to warrant careful consideration. Low birth-weight is usually caused by the mother not getting proper nutrition or gaining enough weight with the pregnancy, although habits such as smoking and drinking can do this too.

Anemia-a deficiency of iron-can be harmful anyway, but is especially problematic in a pregnant teenager. Teenagers are less likely to have good eating habits or gain enough weight during their pregnancies to give the baby adequate nutrition. Plus, since they're still growing themselves, even fewer resources go to the baby of a teenager than an adult. Iron is what helps the blood deliver oxygen to the rest of the body, so not having enough can cause a lot of problems to a developing fetus. This can be avoided by taking iron supplements and eating an iron-rich diet but, if a mother isn't getting the prenatal care I mentioned above, she won't know to do this.

I think one reason teenage mothers don't gain enough weight is because they don't want to “show”; they don't want everyone to know they're pregnant early on or to “look fat”. I don't say this to crack on teenagers in general so much as to say that some of the younger (say, 14-15) girls might not be mature enough to realize that this is a real person inside her who is dependent on her and whose needs she'll have to put before her own for the rest of her life, or at least the next 18 years. Even if she does understand that, “showing” at school can open a girl up to a lot of gossip and scorn from other classmates that certainly doesn't help matters. Like I said above, I'll go over the emotional issues in another post.

Hopefully I've given you some food for thought. I don't say these things to scare you so much as to state what can happen. The details of what to do if your daughter becomes pregnant are things that should be discussed within the family and/or with a doctor. Hopefully you'll never have to have that conversation but, if you do, at least you have a jumping-off point.