Eclampsia in Adolescent Pregnancy: Report of Two Cases

The author reports two cases of adolescent pregnancy, primigravida, with excessive weight gain during antenatal care (ANC). Without health education in self care, these cases developed eclamptic convulsions. The treatment of the convulsions by administering diazepam to the mothers intravenously, and the low birth weight of the newborn, caused the babies to have low Apgar scores. Two of the 3 babies needed to be intubated and all three were admitted to the nursery intensive care unit. The first case was a 15-year-old female, with full term pregnancy. She developed ten convulsions before reaching the hospital. The newborn was delivered by emergency cesarean section, due to fetal distress. The infant was intubated because of poor respiratory effort and discharged after a prolonged hospital stay of 10 days. The second case was a 17-year-old female, with 33+ weeksgestation. She developed two convulsions and was then diagnosed as twin pregnancy with eclampsia. Both infants were delivered vaginally by vacuum extraction. The second twin was intubated and both were discharged after hospital stays of 15 days for one child and 19 days for the other. Conclusion Increased awareness of the development of eclampsia in adolescent pregnancy by improving the service quality of ANC might lead to an earlier diagnosis and better prognosis. Chiang Mai Med Bull 2006;45(3):127-132.