Teen mums have more premature babies
TEENAGERS are more likely to give birth prematurely and have a smaller baby than women in their 20s, research has suggested.
Early birth risk is more pronounced if 14- to 17-year-olds have a second child, the study found. The research team, which monitored 50,000 women in north-west England over a two-year period, is calling for better sex education and contraception.
It monitored 3,636 14- to 17- years-olds at the time of birth, 7,506 aged 18 or 19, and 45,211 who were between 20 and 29. Those aged under 17 were found to be 21 per cent more likely to have a premature baby with their first pregnancy and 93 per cent more likely for the second.