The following study explores the conditions under which former adolescent mothers were successfully or unsuccessfully reintegrated back into high school before and after giving birth. 12 semi-structured, in-depth, interviews were conducted with former adolescent mothers aged 22-23. An exploratory qualitative research approach was adopted as the study sought to acquire information that was specific to the social context and opinions of the former adolescent mothers. In addition, the study sought to explore the factors that contributed to the successful or unsuccessful reintegration of former adolescent mothers back into schools making sense of their recollections of their experiences before and after giving birth. The findings show that despite the interlinked causal factors that may have led to the unplanned pregnancies of adolescent mothers, the journey of adolescent pregnancy and motherhood worked to reinforce their motivation to complete school. Furthermore, the findings indicate that successful reintegration into high school and dealing with adolescent pregnancy and motherhood required various interventions that involved schools, families and the community to ensure the best possible chances for successful reintegration into high school. Recommendations were suggested in the study to enhance the provision of support interventions in managing adolescent pregnancy and parenthood, including, revised curriculum of sexual education, educator training and development, as well as provision of support by families and communities. / Mini Dissertation (MSoSci)--University of Pretoria, 2020. / Sociology / MSoSci / Unrestricted

Adolescent pregnancy is an important public health issue. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine factors related to inadequate use of prenatal care (PNC) among adolescents living in inner-city Winnipeg. The quantitative component consisted of a secondary analysis of data from 92 adolescents (<20 years of age) who participated in a larger case-control study. Adolescents who were of First Nations ethnicity, single, multiparous, and who had low interpersonal support were more likely to receive inadequate PNC. Barriers, facilitators and motivators to PNC utilization were also identified. The qualitative component consisted of open-ended interviews with ten inner-city pregnant adolescents to examine how social support affected their use of PNC. Results showed that material, emotional and informational support were important factors affecting use of PNC. The most important source of material and emotional support was the adolescent’s mother, and the main source of informational support was the PNC provider.

There is a paucity of research about the uptake and utilisation of antenatal care by pregnant adolescents in New Zealand. Media coverage, public perceptions and societal values often presume that adolescents when compared to other women, generally initiate antenatal care if at all and have adverse outcomes related to pregnancy, such as low birth weight and preterm deliveries compared to other woman. This research aims to assess the variations that may exist in the utilisation of and outcomes from antenatal care maternity services for adolescents compared to the pregnant adult population in Christchurch, between 1st July 2004 and the 30th June 2005.

Adolescent pregnancy is an important public health issue. The purpose of this mixed-methods study was to examine factors related to inadequate use of prenatal care (PNC) among adolescents living in inner-city Winnipeg. The quantitative component consisted of a secondary analysis of data from 92 adolescents (<20 years of age) who participated in a larger case-control study. Adolescents who were of First Nations ethnicity, single, multiparous, and who had low interpersonal support were more likely to receive inadequate PNC. Barriers, facilitators and motivators to PNC utilization were also identified. The qualitative component consisted of open-ended interviews with ten inner-city pregnant adolescents to examine how social support affected their use of PNC. Results showed that material, emotional and informational support were important factors affecting use of PNC. The most important source of material and emotional support was the adolescent’s mother, and the main source of informational support was the PNC provider.

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Master of Science / Department of Family Studies and Human Services / Anthony Jurich / Adolescent pregnancy has been an ongoing concern in society for many years. This concern is even greater among the African American community. Girls who experience a pregnancy or childbirth during adolescence often experience difficulties in school and future careers, as well as financial and mental instability. This report will examine how the pregnancy and childbirth experiences of African American teens influence their younger female siblings.

Despite the number of teen pregnancy studies in the past, there is a dearth of empirical data relevant to the issue of psychosocial and/or developmental changes in adolescent mothers. Most previous studies have addressed the negative and devastating impact of teen pregnancy on adolescent development. The premise of these early studies was that adolescents have pathological reasons for becoming pregnant. Contrary to these studies, an underlying assumption of this study was that teen pregnancy as a life crisis could entail the same facilitating and inhibiting factors that emerge with other adolescent life crises. Based on Erikson's theoretical framework, this study investigated the impacts of adolescent pregnancy and childbearing experiences on adolescent identity formation and on psychosocial stage development. Data were collected from 64 (34 childbearing, 30 nonpregnant) high school adolescent girls before and after childbirth. The EOM-EIS (Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status) and EPSI (Erikson Psychosocial Stage Inventory) were used in this study. Analyses of pretest data showed that there were no differences between pregnant and nonpregnant adolescents. Results indicated that there were no differences on psychosocial variables between pregnant adolescents and nonpregnant adolescents with similar demographic backgrounds. The childbearing adolescents demonstrated decreases in foreclosure scores on identity status and increases in trust, industry, and intimacy scores on psychosocial stages. The results indicate that childbearing experiences may have enhanced the adolescents' ability to resolve their earlier developmental stage crises and conflicts.

Background  Sexual violence against women and adolescents is widespread in Nicaragua, a country which also has one of the highest rates of adolescent pregnancies in Latin America. Research shows that adolescent pregnancy is often in correlation with sexual violence. Health care services have an important role in the detection, prevention and treatment of victims of sexual violence. Yet research on Nicaraguan health care professionals’ views and practices regarding sexual violence is scarce.  Aim  The aim of this study was to explore how the Nicaraguan health care system approaches the issue of health care towards victims of sexual violence. What are Nicaraguan health care professionals’ views and practices regarding the health care towards victims of sexual violence? To what extent is the steering document La Norma being applied in the Nicaraguan health care system?  Methods  A qualitative interview study with six health care professionals was conducted and data was interpreted with a qualitative content analysis.  Findings  Health care workers express strong commitment for their professions and a willingness to attend to the victims of sexual violence. However, views and practices not in accordance with La Norma were found, such as gender stereotypes among health care professionals about adolescent girls becoming pregnant mainly due to recklessness on their side. This constitutes a barrier against regarding adolescent pregnancy as a possible indicator of sexual violence. There is a clear connection with gender as it is young women and girls that are affected. This attitude is negative for the detection and treatment of victims of sexual violence and consequently for the protection of these patients’ right to the highest attainable health.  Conclusion  Health care practices and views of health care professionals are often not consistent with the steering document La Norma. Increased resources including education and more time with patients would strengthen nurses’ work and improve the medical attendance to sexual violence victims, thus contributing to a rights-based approach to sexual and reproductive health. Implementation of steering documents regarding the attention to sexual violence in the health care services also needs to improve. Future studies should further examine the implementation and monitoring process of steering documents, including budget resources.

IntroduÃÃo: A literatura à ampla no conhecimento das repercussÃes imediatas da maternidade na adolescÃncia, tanto para as mulheres como para os filhos. Entretanto, ainda nÃo estÃo muito claros, os efeitos, em mÃdio e longo prazo, sobre as crianÃas, de uma maternidade, entre mÃes adolescentes de baixa renda. O primeiro ano de vida, perÃodo mais vulnerÃvel aos agravos de qualquer natureza, parece ser a fase mais crÃtica para os efeitos desta condiÃÃo. Objetivos: Verificar que fatores ou condiÃÃes poderiam determinar maior risco de morbidade em crianÃas com menos de um ano, de mÃes adolescentes. Metodologia: Estudo transversal, desenvolvido entre marÃo de 2001 e marÃo de 2002, no NÃcleo de AtenÃÃo Medica Integrada, UNIFOR e no Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin. As variÃveis do estudo contemplam as mÃes e as crianÃas abordando aspectos comportamentais, sociais, econÃmicos, demogrÃficos e biolÃgicos. Resultados: Foram estudadas 296 mÃes com idades entre 14 e 19 anos e seus filhos menores de 12 meses, matriculados nos referidos serviÃos. A mÃdia de escolaridade das mÃes foi de 6,5 anos e 8,1% exerciam atividade trabalhista remunerada. NÃo houve associaÃÃo significativa entre doenÃa nas crianÃas e escolaridade da mÃe (p>0,05). A renda familiar foi de 01SM, em 75,5% dos casos. Um nÃmero significativo de mÃes (65,2%) preferia ter esperado mais tempo para engravidar e 19,5% tentaram o aborto. NÃo houve associaÃÃo significativa entre doenÃa nas crianÃas e essas variÃveis estudadas. Das mÃes com atà 16 anos, 17,7% tiveram filhos com PN igual ou menor que 2500g e das maiores de 16, 13,0% tambÃm os tiveram (p>0,05). Analisadas isoladamente, mÃes mais jovens geraram filhos com peso menor que mÃes mais velhas, apesar de nÃo ser baixo peso (p<0,05). Quase 60,0% das mÃes, cuidam sozinhas das crianÃas. As mais velhas (>16 anos) cuidam mais que as mais jovens (14-16 anos) (p<0,05) e as solteiras cuidam menos que as casadas 9 (p<0,05). As que recebem ajuda financeira cuidam mais sozinhas do que as que nÃo a recebem (p<0,05). NÃo houve associaÃÃo entre doenÃa e cuidados infantis (p>0,05). A idade mÃdia das crianÃas foi de 3,5 meses e 99,2% tinham CartÃo da CrianÃa. Foi considerada boa a cobertura vacinal. A duraÃÃo mÃdia do aleitamento exclusivo foi de 117 dias e 180 dias para alimentaÃÃo mista. VÃ-se associaÃÃo estatisticamente significativa entre nÃo mamar e adoecer (p<0,05). As doenÃas mais freqÃentes foram as IRAs (44,8%), as afecÃÃes cutÃneas (21,1%) e as diarrÃias (18,2%). O desejo ou nÃo da mÃe engravidar nÃo influenciou na morbidade das crianÃas (p>0,05). O tempo gestacional, vitalidade e peso, ao nascer, nÃo mostraram associaÃÃo com doenÃa nas crianÃas. ConclusÃo: O fator determinante para doenÃa nas crianÃas foi o menor tempo de amamentaÃÃo. RecomendaÃÃo: Os resultados do estudo mostram que mÃes adolescentes devem receber orientaÃÃes sobre o manejo de doenÃas da infÃncia, crescimento e desenvolvimento normal das crianÃas, alÃm de se intensificar a proposta de orientaÃÃo continuada para prevenir a gestaÃÃo. / Introduction: The immediate repercussions of a teenage motherhood, both on the women and their children, are widely addressed in the literature. However, it is not clear which are the medium and long-term effects the teenage and low income status of the mothers have on their offspring. The first year of life, the most vulnerable period in life to aggressions of any kind, seems to be the most critical stage for the effects of such conditions to appear. Objective: Verify which factors or conditions could determine a higher morbidity risk in children under one year of age. Methodology: Transversal-type study, carried out between March 2001 and March 2002 at the Integrated Medical Care Center (NÃcleo de AtenÃÃo MÃdica Integrada), Fortaleza University, and at the Albert Sabin Hospital for Children (Hospital Infantil Albert Sabin - HIAS). The study variables contemplate the mothers and children approaching behaviors, social, economics, demographic and biological aspects. Results: 296 mothers were studied, with ages ranging between 14-19 years, and their not older than one year children, all of them registered at the above mentioned healthcare services. The mothersâ average school-attending time was 6,5 years, and 8,1% of them performed a remunerated activity. There was no significant association between child disease and the motherâs literacy level (p>0,05). The familyâs income was one minimum wage in 75,5% of the cases. An important number of mothers (65,2%) would have preferred to wait longer before getting pregnant, and 19,5% of them tried an abortion. There was no significant association between child disease and these variables. Of the mothers under 16, 17,7% newborn weight were equal or less than 2500g, as from the more than 16, 13,0% newborn weight was the same (p>0,05). Separately, youngest mothers procreated newborn weight lower than oldest mothers (p<0,05). Almost 60,0% of the women do take care of their children. The oldest take care more than the youngest (p<0,05) and 11 the single less than the married (p<0,05). Women that accept financial help take care more than that ones who do not accept (p<0,05). There was no significant association between child care and disease (p>0,05). The average age of the children was 3,5 months, and 99,2% of them had Child Card (CartÃo da CrianÃa). It was good the vaccination status. The average breast-feeding period was 117 days for exclusive breast-feeding, and 180 days for a mixed feeding. A statistically significant association was found between the breast-feeding period and the occurrence of child diseases (p<0,05). The most common pathologies were the IRAs (44,8%), skin affections (21,1%), and diarrhea (18,2%). The incidence of child morbidity was not influenced by the desire, or lack of desire, of the mother to get pregnant (p>0,05). The gestational age at birth, the newbornâs vitality and birth weight did not show to be significant parameters affecting child morbidity. Conclusion: The main factor for childrenâs sickness was the short period of breast-feeding. Recommendation: The results of the study suggests that teenage mothers should be oriented about how to manage child diseases, and be given information regarding the normal growth and development of their children as well to prevent new pregnancy

Even though it has always been widely believed that HIV affects mainly the underprivileged and unemployed, the scourge is fastest growing in the educated and employed. Despite this, it is still the unemployed and underprivileged that are still of concern. According to the UNAIDS (2004) South Africa has the fastest growing HIV/AIDS epidemic in the world and this situation poses a great threat to the country’s economic, political and even social development. Within the socio-economic landscape of South Africa, the most adversely affected is the youth, women and those in poverty. It is this vulnerable social group (the underprivileged youth and women) who is of concern to this study. Adolescent pregnancy also seems to be increasing in South Africa - a trend that seems to be influenced by various personal and socio-cultural factors. Not only do some adolescent girls find themselves faced with a presumable adult challenge for some of these girls also seem at greater risk for sexual transmitted diseases, particularly HIV and AIDS. Dealing with the reality of adolescent pregnancy and HIV/AIDS could be challenging as the adolescents try to take care of themselves and their children in an environment often filled with stigma, uncertainty, and limited access to information and health care. This situation calls for those in the field of research to understand teenage pregnancy in the context of HIV and sociological and psychological pressures that these girls find themselves in as they manoeuvre through this challenge. Perhaps by understanding their personal experiences, society can best devise ways to assist these girls. Even though a lot of research has been conducted in South Africa on HIV/AIDS, a considerable amount of it has focused on males and pregnant women in general. In situations where adolescents are studied, a lot of focus and emphasis is put on their sexual behaviour and the causes of their pregnancy. The purpose for this study therefore was to get an in depth view of the experiences of three pregnant, black adolescent girls living with HIV/AIDS. A qualitative phenomenological approach with in depth interviews was conducted. The method of analysis used was Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis (IPA). Four themes or categories of meaning units were derived from the analysis of the interview material. These themes are extrapolated and described and representative quotations from the raw data are included. In exploring these themes and making sense of the data, Erikson’s psychosocial theory of development was used as a frame of reference to contextualise the themes derived from the study in the light of the relevant development stage. / Dissertation (MA)--University of Pretoria, 2008. / Psychology / unrestricted