Early pregnancy and childbearing are typically associated with less education and lower future income for young mothers. For unwed teens in some countries, motherhood can result in social ostracism. In other settings, teens may choose to become pregnant to gain status with their peers, improve their relationship with family members, or because they have few other life opportunities outside of motherhood. These circumstances carry different policy and service implications. Young women and their children face serious health risks from early pregnancy and childbearing.
More adolescent girls die from pregnancy-related causes than from any other cause.
Infants of young mothers are also more likely to be premature and have low birth weights. In many countries, the risk of death during the first year of life is 1.5 times higher for infants born to mothers under age 20 than for those born to mothers ages 20 to 29. For all women, first births are higher risk than subsequent births, and for teens, the risks are greater still. Because adolescents have less experience, resources, and knowledge about pregnancy and childbirth than older women, they and their children suffer when obstetric emergencies occur. The reproductive decisions of today's youth will have a dramatic effect on future world population growth.