The Consequences of Adolescent Childbearing on Postnatal Development

Abstract

The literature dealing with the effects of adolescent childbearing on postnatal infant development is critically reviewed in this paper. The data concerning intellectual development, mental retardation, physical, motor, and neurological development, academic achievement, and social and emotional development as a functuon of maternal age are presented. It is concluded that the existing data on the developmental sequelae of adolescent childbearing lends only minimal support to the hypothesis that maternal immaturity places the newborn infant at increased developmental risk. Nevertheless, because of the socioeconomic characteristics of adolescent mothers, the outlook for infants of such mothers is dismal primarily because of postnatal environmental factors. Some suggestions for future research in this area are offered.