Child growth and development from birth to 36 months old born to adolescent mothers-results of the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study

Background: Adolescent pregnancy carries a higher risk of adverse birth outcomes. So far, there have been very few longitudinal studies of the growth of children born by adolescents. This study explores birth outcomes and determinants in adolescent pregnancies, using subjects drawn from the Taiwan Birth Cohort Study (TBCS). Methods: Using data of Wave I (6months old), II (18 months old) and III (36 months old) of TBCS, a national sample of 19,381 pairs of mothers and their children were included for analysis, including 560 pairs resulting from adolescent mothers. Through completed field interviews with structured questionnaires and surveys with mothers or other family members, and with references to each child's birth certificate and Passport of Well-baby Care, differences in birth outcomes and personal, pregnancy and social profiles of mothers were analyzed. Results: A total of 560 adolescent mothers (<20 years old) and 18,821 adult mothers (20-34 years old) were included in our study. There was no significant difference between two groups in terms of parameters of the child growth. The numbers (proportions) of failure in milestones at 3 years old in gross motor, fine motor, language and social development of children born to adolescent mothers are 13(2.32%), 34(6.07%), 10(1.79%)and 24(4.29%), respectively; while there are 392(2.08%), 1015(5.39%), 308(1.64%)and 512(2.72%) for those born to adult mothers. The determinates of failure in development are “the mother isn't the night-time caregiver” and “family dysfunction“. Conclusion: There was no significant difference in development at 3 years old between children born to adolescent and adult mothers.