Age of mother is a predictor of maternal and infant health risk. Pregnant teens aged 15-19 years are less likely to receive timely prenatal care and gain appropriate weight and more likely to smoke during pregnancy than pregnant women aged >=20 years. These factors are associated with poor birth outcomes. For example,infants born to mothers who smoke during pregnancy are 65% more likely to possess low birthweight and 70% more likely to die in infancy than infants born to nonsmokers. In 2004, the overall U.
S. birth rate for mothers aged 15-19 years was 41.1 births per 1000 females in that age group. Among states, or rates ranged from 62.6 (Texas) to 18.2 (unique Hampshire).
Source: cdc.gov