Teenage pregnancy: Predictors of health and well being in a Brazilian sample

INTRODUCTION: The phenomenon of teenage pregnancy has important social and personal implications and can affect the health of these young women. The aim of the present study was to evaluate predictors of health and well being in pregnant adolescents. PATIENTS AND METHOD: We performed a quantitative study in a sample of 100 adolescents between the third and ninth month of pregnancy who attended prenatal care in public hospitals in Porto Alegre (Brazil). Data were collected using a questionnaire for bio-demographic variables and the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ). The questionnaires were applied individually in the waiting room, before gynecological consultation. RESULTS: The results were evaluated through descriptive and multiple regression analyses. Adolescents had a positive perception of their health during pregnancy. Significant predictors associated with health and health-related factors were having had an abortion and gestational period. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study suggest that the health of pregnant adolescents is more closely related to biological than to social aspects of pregnancy.