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Young maternal age and risk of intrapartum stillbirth

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Archives of Gynecology and Obstetrics Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Objectives

To determine the risk of intrapartum stillbirth among teen mothers.

Methods

The Missouri maternally linked data containing births from 1978 to 1997 were analyzed. The study group (teen mothers) was sub-divided into younger (<15 years) and older (15–19 years) teenagers. Women aged 20–24 were the referent category. We used Kaplan–Meier product-limit estimator to calculate the cumulative probability of death for each group and the Cox Proportional Hazards Regression models to obtain adjusted hazards ratios.

Results

The rate of antepartum and intrapartum stillbirth among teenagers was 3.8 per 1,000 and 1.0 per 1,000, respectively, compared to 3.5 per 1,000 and 0.8 per 1,000 among the reference group. The adjusted risk of intrapartum stillbirth was more than 4 times as high among younger teens (adjusted hazard ratio [AHR] 4.3 [95% CI 4.0–4.7]) and 50% higher among older teens (AHR 1.5 [95% CI 1.2–1.8]). The risk of intrapartum stillbirth occurred in a dose-dependent fashion, with risk increasing as maternal age decreased (P < 0.01).

Conclusion

Teenagers are at an increased risk of stillbirth, with the greatest risk disparity occurring intrapartum, especially among younger teens. This new information is potentially useful for targeting intervention measures aimed at improving in utero fetal survival among pregnant women at the lower extreme of the maternal age spectrum.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported through a Young Clinical Scientist Award to Dr. Hamisu Salihu by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI). The funding agency did not play any role in any aspect of the study. We thank the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services for providing the data files used in this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Roneé E. Wilson & Hamisu M. Salihu

  2. Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL, USA

    Hamisu M. Salihu

  3. Department of Family and Preventive Medicine, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Hamisu M. Salihu

  4. Council on African American Affairs, Washington DC, USA

    Amina P. Alio

  5. Department of Maternal and Child Health, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA

    Russell S. Kirby

Authors
  1. Roneé E. Wilson
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  2. Amina P. Alio
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  3. Russell S. Kirby
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  4. Hamisu M. Salihu
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Hamisu M. Salihu.

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Wilson, R.E., Alio, A.P., Kirby, R.S. et al. Young maternal age and risk of intrapartum stillbirth. Arch Gynecol Obstet 278, 231–236 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-007-0557-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00404-007-0557-4

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