ALSO AT RISK Pregnancies to very young mothers also carry increased risks for both mother and baby. Children born to mothers under age 18 have a greater chance of dying before age five, compared with births to mothers aged 20 to 34. Babies born to very young mothers are again more likely to be premature or underweight. Teenage girls who are not physically mature are at greater risk of obstructed labor and complications during delivery. They are less likely to get prenatal care and to have the means to safeguard the health of their infants.
Adolescent girls are also more likely to undergo unsafe abortions.
Even where abortion is legal, access may be difficult for unmarried girls. By preventing closely-spaced births or those to very young mothers, family planning could reduce infant and child mortality by up to 25 percent, or about three million deaths a year. Simply spacing all births at least two years apart could reduce infant and child deaths on average by 15 to 20 percent. The potential to save children's lives is greater where a high proportion of births are closely spaced. Improved spacing of births could reduce child deaths by a third in Egypt and Brazil.