Résumé : Every year, more than 1 million adolescents become pregnant in the US, of which half bear their children to become adolescent mothers. Most of these young women are unmarried. Pregnancy among adolescents is an important problem in most developing countries. In Brazil's public hospitals, 15-25% of the mothers delivering babies are adolescents, mainly aged 15-19 years. The phenomenon in Brazil appears numerically stable for people 15-19 years old, with a trend of increase among people under age 15. Most pregnancies are unwanted, and involve medical, psychological, and social consequences. Those consequences of pregnancy are described, followed by consideration of the causes of unwanted pregnancy and gender issues. The disadvantages of teen pregnancy are more marked for multipara adolescents. The main immediate consequences of unwanted pregnancy are induced abortion, lack of prenatal care, personal and family disruption, and adoption and abandonment. Intervention policies are suggested to reduce the incidence of pregnancy during adolescence through sex education programs, services for the special care of adolescents, access to orientation and contraceptive methods, and support for the pregnancies to be carried until term.
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