Overall Health: Early pregnancy and childbear- ing negatively affect the overall health of young women and their children. In poor countries, ado- lescent mothers are twice as likely to die from preg- nancy- or childbirth-related causes as older moth- ers. Data from 15 developing countries reveal that adolescents under the age of 17 are far less likely to receive skilled prenatal and delivery care than women between the ages of 19 and 23 (Reynolds et al., 2003). Moreover, children of young mothers are more likely to be born prematurely and at low birth weights, as well as more likely to be stillborn or.
