A study of maternal health and fetal development at Boston City Hospital provided an opportunity to explore whether infants born to adolescents exhibit poorer outcomes at birth than infants born to nonadolescents, and if the outcomes are poorer, whether adolescent status or other health habits or life situations are more predictive of those outcomes.

This study was set up to assess whether adolescent and nonadolescent mothers varied on numerous maternal characteristics, labor and delivery events, and neonatal outcome measures. Outcome variables examined included length of gestation, infant size at delivery, and Apgar scores. The independent variables were: drug use (never, prepregnancy, or during pregnancy), prepregnancy weight, number of previous pregnancies, religious affiliation, race, history of prior maternal illnesses (e.g., hypertension, diabetes), number of miscarriages and abortions, risk factors (e.g., toxemia, epilepsy, anemia, accidents) during pregnancy, weight change during pregnancy, time of first prenatal visit (first, second, or third trimesters, or no prenatal care), daily coffee consumption, x-ray exposure during pregnancy, number of cigarettes smoked per day during pregnancy, marijuana use (never, prepregnancy, pre- and during pregnancy), education, number of meals per day, sex of infant, alcohol consumption (average daily drinks) prior to pregnancy and during pregnancy separately, and iron use.

Additional variables include: whether the mother had premature rupture of the membrane, a Cesarian section, meconiumstained fluid, oxytocin (Pitocin)-induced labor, medications during labor, use and route of anesthesia, maternal fever, whether the infant had an abnormal presentation, or abnormal placenta, nuchal cord, decelerations, intubation, and forceps extraction. Further data on infant status, including congenital malformations and weight at birth, were also added.