Risk factors associated with pregnancy in adolescents

Introduction: adolescents are biologically prepared and culturally motivated to initiate an active sexual life, but are unable to analyze the consequences of their sexual behavior and make decisions in a responsible manner. Objective: to identify risk factors that could influence pregnancy in adolescence. Method: a case-control study was carried out in the "Emilio Daudinot" polyclinic in 2013. The universe comprised the pregnant adolescents captured during that year (42 cases) and the number of adolescents who were never pregnant, selected two for each case (86 controls). Knowledge variables were analyzed. The information obtained from a previously validated survey. The results are expressed in double entry tables. Odds ratio and Confidence Intervals were estimated. Results: risk factors for pregnancy in adolescence were found to have their first sexual relations between 15 and 19 years and not have knowledge about complications of pregnancy in adolescence. The vast majority of adolescents knew the optimal age to get pregnant and do not consider abortion as a contraceptive method. Conclusions: it is recommended to design an educational intervention program to modify the knowledge of adolescents.