Abstract

Aim: To describe the sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics of a group of pregnant adolescents attending prenatal care at Basic Comprehensive Health Care Teams (EBAIS in the social security of Costa Rica) in an urban and rural community in Costa Rica.”

Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional qualitative study was conducted in a rural (Golfito) and urban (Alajuelita) community in Costa Rica. The study population consisted of all pregnant adolescents who met the following inclusion criteria: being under 20 years old, attending prenatal care at the EBAIS in the communities under study, and providing informed permission or consent. Information was collected by visiting each pregnant adolescent at their residence and conducting an interview, during which a data collection instrument specifically designed for this purpose was completed. The information was entered into a database created using Microsoft Office® Excel 2007, which was used for descriptive statistical analysis.”

Results: A total of 56 pregnant adolescents participated in the study (14 from the rural area and 42 from the urban area), and an average age of 17 ±1.5 years. The majority of the participants are single, have not completed their secondary education, and are involved in domestic activities. The 26.8% of the adolescents had previous pregnancies. On average, prenatal care was initiated at 10.9 ± 5,6 weeks of gestation, and the majority (73.2%) began prenatal care during the first trimester of pregnancy.

Conclusions: This study provides insights into the sociodemographic and obstetric characteristics of a group of pregnant adolescents receiving prenatal care in a rural and urban communities in Costa Rica. The majority of these young women began their prenatal care in the first trimester of pregnancy, allowing them to access health care focused on promoting health and preventing diseases.

Keywords: Adolescence; pregnancy; antenatal care; sociodemographic characteristics.