Pregnant adolescents who receive interdisciplinary prenatal and postpartum care and psychosocial support have lower rates of rapid pregnancy recurrence, Amanda Melhado reported at the annual meeting of the Society for Adolescent Medicine.
In a prospective study of a “global care” model, Ms. Melhado, Dr. Maria José Carvalho Sant'Anna, and Dr. Verônica Coates of Faculdade de Ciências Médicas da Santa Casa in São Paolo, Brazil, compared the outcomes of 30 adolescents who received specialized prenatal medical care and psychoeducational support with those of 39 age-matched adolescents who received standard prenatal care only.
All the young women in the study were 18 years old or younger at the time of conception and gave birth at the same hospital between July 1, 2004, and June 30, 2005.
No significant differences were found between the two groups with respect to marital status or relationship with the babies' fathers. More than half of the young women in both groups were not married at the time of the study, and more than one-quarter in both groups no longer had contact with the child's father.
The psychoeducational support component included group and individual sessions with a team of providers—including mental health professionals, obstetricians, and pediatricians—focusing on such topics as self-esteem, contraception, relationships, and infant development.
As of March 2006, the rate of pregnancy recurrence among the young women who received the intervention was 3%, compared with 15% in the standard care group.