OBJECTIVE: To identify the role of pregnancy during adolescence as a risk factor to low birth weight (LBW). METHODS: A stratified sample of live births from the Information System of Live Births in the municipality of Rio de Janeiro, in the period 1996-98, was selected. The risk factors of LBW were analyzed for the two strata composed by the mother age, 15-19 and 20-24 years old. For the statistical analysis, odds ratios and correspondent confidence intervals were estimated. Logistic regression […]