This thesis explores theories of postfeminism and discourses of “can-do” and “at-risk” girlhood as they are enacted in MTV’s teen pregnancy franchise, which I define as including 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and Teen Mom 2. Specifically, this project examines how MTV frames the young mothers featured across this franchise as what I label “postfeminist failures.” Within its teen pregnancy programming, MTV exploits the shortcomings of the featured teen mothers. These failures include broken relationships, prison sentences, and subsequent pregnancy scares and pregnancies. Furthermore, these failures all stem from the teen mothers’ initial failure to adequately manage her sexuality, as evidenced by getting pregnant at age sixteen. These failures constitute much of the plot of MTV’s docu-dramatic series and have also spilled over into paratexts related to MTV’s franchise. I contest in this thesis that the rhetoric of postfeminist failure, first articulated and exploited in 16 and Pregnant, Teen Mom, and Teen Mom 2, is then reproduced in the franchise’s paratextual materials. These paratexts range from reunion shows hosted by Dr. Drew Pinsky to tabloid magazine coverage. I also interrogate the celebrity status of MTV’s featured teen mothers, especially those on Teen Mom and Teen Mom 2, and problematize publicity and fame rooted in the failure of these girls to adhere to normative standards of postfeminist womanhood. MTV’s teen pregnancy franchise is categorized as reality television, a genre derided by many scholars as lowbrow and devoid of substance. In order to combat these assumptions about reality television, particularly because this teen pregnancy franchise is promoted as educational for its audience, MTV has fostered strategic partnerships with The Kaiser Family Foundation’s “It’s Your (Sex) Life Campaign” and The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy. Through these partnerships, MTV has infused its reality content with pathways to information-rich websites about contraceptives and pregnancy prevention sponsored by each non-profit. Through analyzing these partnerships and cultural discourses surrounding teen pregnancy, I question the assumption by many proponents and critics of the franchise that the content must either be educational for its viewers or purely entertaining programming. / text

Parity is associated with a short–term increase in breast cancer (BC) risk followed by a long–term decrease in risk. BC diagnosed 5–7 years after a completed pregnancy is associated with worse outcomes. BC is not a single disease. The dual effect of pregnancy could account for the BC characteristics at presentation (i.e. younger age and more advanced disease) and worse outcomes observed among Hispanics, relative to Non–Hispanic Whites. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association of reproductive characteristics by tumor subtype in a case series of women of Mexican–descent. Cases diagnosed ≤10 years following a birth had nearly 3 times the odds of a diagnosis with HER2+ tumors, relative to ER+/PR+ tumors. HER2+ tumors are associated with reduced survival compared to ER+/PR+ tumors. Diagnosis within a recent pregnancy may contribute to the aggressiveness of BC observed among women of Mexican descent ≤50 years of age.

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This descriptive study compared life events in the lives of pregnant (n = 23) and non-pregnant (n = 23) adolescents using a developmental model. A 51-item life events checklist adapted from Robbins (1981) and Johnson and McCutcheon (1980) was used to identify occurrence and perception (good or bad) of life events. Mean ages were 17.3 (pregnant) an 17.0 (non-pregnant). Ethnic representation was Hispanic (n = 28), Anglo (n = 14), American Indian (n = 2), and Black (n = 2). One pregnant and seven non-pregnant adolescents were employed. Thirty-nine adolescents lived with their parents, and seven lived on their own. Pregnancy of sister or close friend, an increased number of arguments between parents, a change in parents' financial status, and trouble with brother or sister were reported by more than 50% of the total. No significant difference existed in either the total number or perception of life events between groups. In addition, the developmental adaptation categories revealed no significant statistical difference.

Herbal and homeopathic compounds have been used to aid in childbearing and pregnancy for centuries. Much of this information is anecdotal and lacks scientific support, making it difficult to evaluate safety and efficacy. Increased public interest in alternative treatments leads to the need for a systematic review on the topic. Herbal remedies are most often used to treat the most common pregnancy-related problems like nausea, stretch marks and varicose veins. In contrast to this, concerns have also been raised about the adverse effects of these remedies. The primary objective of this research project was to conduct a systematic review to assess the maternal and neonatal outcomes of ingested herbal and homeopathic remedies using during pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding.

Increasing adverse birth outcome are a major concern in South African maternal care and globally In South Africa, perinatal mortality rate of 40/1000 and maternal mortality ratio of 150/100 000 are poor considering the fact that 95.1 percent of women attend antenatal care and 83.7 percent of women deliver in a medical facility. This study focuses on the effect of lack of adequate antenatal care on adverse birth outcome using data from the 1998 South African Demographic and Health Survey. The analysis is based on univariate and bivariate analysis to examine the effect of socio- demographic characteristics on adverse birth outcomes. In addition, binary logistic regression is used to examine the impact of antenatal and sociodemographic characteristics on adverse birth outcome. The results show majority of women reporting adverse birth outcome are those who delivered though caesarean section (53 percent) and that most of these women are likely to be educated and have better socio economic status and that they are likely to be Non African. It is also shows that the proportion of women attending antenatal care adequately is very high in South Africa. The results show that the use of antenatal care is determined by a range of socio demographic factors including the level of education and the economic status of the mother. Only timing of antenatal care, place of delivery and race had a significant effect on adverse birth outcome. All other variables were not significant. Results from the binary regression analysis show that women who started their antenatal care during second and third trimester (95%CI: 0.211-0.975), were Non African (95%CI: 1.082 to 2.098) and delivered in a private health facilities (95%CI: 0.28 to 0.73) were more likely to have adverse birth outcome compared to their counterparts. Most women choosing caesarean section do so without adequate information on the disadvantages of delivering through caesarean section. Therefore, there is a need to focus maternal health education to all women in South Africa regardless of their socio- economic status background / Thesis (M.A.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2007.

One of the most serious phenomena plaguing families and societies worldwide is teenage pregnancy. In South Africa teenage mothers are permitted to return to schools after giving bith however, not much is done to support these mothers in order to ensure that they are not psychosocially vulnerable and not drop out of school due to possible stress, frustration and lack of scholastic progress. This is where this study is located. This was a Qualitative study that used symbolic drawings accompanied by short descriptive narratives and individual, semi-structured interviews as data collection methods. The study involved 10 teenage mothers who had been re-admitted to schools after giving birth. The participants were aged 15 and 16 and is grades 9 and 10. The findings show that teenage mothers enjoyed family support, had dreams for the future, were anchored in religion and spirituality, had determination and that they had abilities to learn from mistakes. I could not locate a study that had focused on the typical vulnerabilities and empowerment of teenage mothers. Therefore, this study provides useful insight into the factors that are known to render young girls vulnerable to teenage pregnancy and the resultant motherhood and the personal and exological processes that combine in complex ways in order to enable young mothers to cope resiliently. The findings add to theory and have implications for practice / Thesis (MEd (Learner Support))--North-West University, Vaal Triangle Campus, 2013

According to the World Health Organization, mental health problems, particularly depression and anxiety, are increasing worldwide; this places a huge burden on individuals, families, and society. Maternal depression has drawn a lot of attention during the last two decades because maternal depression affects not only the women, but also their unborn children and/or newborns. However, the majority of women who suffer from maternal depression do not seek help. When the women seek help, they are often under-diagnosed or under-treated by their family physicians. The shared care model has been implemented in a variety of health care settings including mental health. Shared care enhances collaboration between family physicians and specialists in delivering patient care. The Maternal Mental Health Program (MMHP) is a shared care program, and was developed to improve the mental health of pregnant and postpartum women in the Saskatoon Health Region. In comparison to other shared care programs reported in the literature, the MMHP is focused exclusively on maternal mental health. To evaluate the MMHP, a quantitative evaluation was conducted to examine the implementation and maintenance of the program. Based on the findings, there was a significant reduction of depression and anxiety symptoms among women who completed the program. This study revealed that social determinants of health are associated with the level of symptoms. Overall, the program met women’s and physician’s expectations, with 75 women (75.8%) and 75 physicians (76.5%) being satisfied or very satisfied with the program. This evaluation study suggests that implementation and maintenance of a shared care maternal mental health program are possible and effective in a local setting, and, in order to improve maternal mental health, social determinants of health have to be addressed.

Statement of the problem The primary objective of this thesis was to determine the best study design to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of an intermediate dose of low molecular weight heparin for secondary prevention of pregnancy associated VTE (PAVTE). An RCT was deemed unfeasible,so the use of a single arm study with prior evaluation of feasibility with a pilot study is proposed. // Methods - A systematic review was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of current strategies used for secondary prevention of PAVTE.A survey was used to elicit the non-inferiority margin. // Results - The pooled proportion of recurrent VTE in patients treated with full dose LMWH was 0.012(95% CI 0.006 to 0.02) and the rate of major bleeding was 0.025(95% CI=0.01 to 0.041). The non-inferiority margin was elicited at 2.5%. // Conclusions - Although a randomized controlled trial should be conducted whenever possible, in certain scenarios they are unfeasible. Therefore, an alternative study design should perhaps be used to evaluate the safety and efficacy of therapeutic strategies.