Health Topic

Teenage Pregnancy

Get the facts on teenage pregnancy - how common it is, prevention, and how teenage mothers can have a safe and healthy pregnancy.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: Adolescent pregnancy

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Teenage Pregnancy

Most teenage girls don't plan to get pregnant, but many do. Teen pregnancies carry extra health risks to both the mother and the baby. Often, teens don't get prenatal care soon enough, which can lead to problems later on. They have a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure and its complications. Risks for the baby include premature birth and a low birth weight.

If you're a pregnant teen, you can help yourself and your baby by:

  • Getting regular prenatal care
  • Taking your prenatal vitamins for your health and to prevent some birth defects
  • Avoiding smoking, alcohol, and drugs
  • Using a condom, if you are having sex, to prevent sexually transmitted infections (STIs) that could hurt your baby. If you or your partner is allergic to latex, you can use polyurethane condoms.

It sits within Children and Teenagers, Women, Pregnancy and Reproduction and Female Reproductive System.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Teenage Pregnancy

488 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

Start Here

Symptoms

Diagnosis and Tests

Prevention and Risk Factors

Living With

Related Issues

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Pregnancy in Adolescence. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Teenage Pregnancy, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.