Teenage Pregnancy

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Symptoms
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors

Learn More

• Living With
• Related Issues

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Men
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Most teenage girls don't plan to get pregnant, but many do. Teen pregnancies carry extra health risks to both the mother and the baby. Often, teens don't get prenatal care soon enough, which can lead to problems later on. They have a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby include premature birth and a low birth weight.

If you're a pregnant teen, you can help yourself and your baby by:

• Getting regular prenatal care
• Taking your prenatal vitamins for your health and to prevent some birth defects
• Avoiding smoking, alcohol, and drugs
• Using a condom, if you are having sex, to prevent sexually transmitted diseases that could hurt your baby. If your or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.

Start Here

• About Teen Pregnancy (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Having a Healthy Pregnancy (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Teenage Pregnancy (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Symptoms

• Symptoms of Pregnancy: What Happens First (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Pregnancy Test (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• Birth Control: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Living With

• Having a Baby (For Teens) (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
• Pregnancy and Nutrition: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish
• When Children Have Children (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) - PDF Also in Spanish
• When Your Teen Is Having a Baby (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Are You Pregnant and Thinking about Adoption? (Children's Bureau) - PDF
• Can a Girl Get Pregnant If She Has Sex during Her Period? (Nemours Foundation)
• Teen Parents (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• Characteristics of Pregnant Teen Substance Abuse Treatment Admissions (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) - PDF
• Teen Pregnancy in the United States (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Pregnancy in Adolescence (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Repeated adolescent pregnancy in Brazil from 2015 to 2019.
• Article: Exploring the Dilemmas, Challenges, and Opportunities of Adolescent Fatherhood: An Exploratory...
• Article: Social determinants of health and adolescent childbearing in WHO Eastern Mediterranean...
• Teenage Pregnancy -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Also in Spanish
• Find an Ob-Gyn (American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists)
• March of Dimes Foundation Also in Spanish

Men

• Becoming a Father (Boston Children's Hospital)

Patient Handouts

• Teenage pregnancy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish