A total of 104 primiparous low-income pregnant adolescents in their second or third trimester of pregnancy attending a city-county maternity hospital were consecutively selected according to three age categories -- 13-14 years, 15-16 years, and 17-18 years. Subjects were asked to respond anonymously to a short questionnaire administered by the clinic instructor while waiting for their routine prenatal examination. Questions covered personal demographics, knowledge and use of birth control, coital frequency, desire for pregnancy, affective states, expected lifestyle changes, and knowledge of the fertility cycle. The majority of subjects, although experiencing an unplanned pregnancy, perceived minimal negative social consequences associated with the pregnancy. Although more than 82 percent of all teens were aware of where to obtain birth control information and devices, they had no clear understanding of the menstrual cycle and its relationship to the reproductive cycle and intercourse. Only 11 percent used effective contraception. Of the birth-control nonusers, 74 percent reported they did not want to get pregnant. In spite of practicing unprotected coitus, most girls were surprised at the pregnancy. 1 table, 6 references.