Abstract
PURPOSE: To examine the impact of young maternal age on miscarriages and stillbirths in rural Southern Nepal. METHOD: Pregnancies, miscarriages, and stillbirths were prospectively identified in two randomized trials of maternal micronutrient supplementation. This analysis included 5861 women of parity 0 (nulliparas) and 4459 of parity 1 (primiparas) who were <26 years of age. RESULTS: Among nulliparous women, 5.7% and 4.6% of pregnancies ended in miscarriage and stillbirth. The adjusted relative risk of miscarriage was 2.07 for girls <15 (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.17-3.66) compared with those 18 and 19 years, and was 1.40 (95% CI = 1.06-1.84) among those 15-17 years. Stillbirth rates did not differ significantly by maternal age. There were no differences in miscarriage or stillbirth rates by maternal age among primiparas. CONCLUSION: Young maternal age increased the risk of miscarriages but not stillbirths for nulliparas. Miscarriages and stillbirths did not differ by maternal age for primiparous women.