Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2002. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 77-83). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes bibliographical references (leaf 132-139) Also available in print.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / No presente trabalho analisamos a amamentação desde a óptica de um grupo de mães-nutrizes adolescentes de baixa renda, residentes no Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Objetivamos compreender como as mulheres estudadas vivenciavam o processo de amamentação de seus filhos e identificar os fatores que contribuíam para a construção de tais vivências. Partimos do pressuposto de que as mães adolescentes vivenciavam o ser nutriz como uma ação cotidiana que se consolidava ou se desfazia em função de fatores da ordem da natureza e/ou da cultura que permeavam essa prática. Constitui-se de uma pesquisa qualitativa. Participaram 12 mães adolescentes, entre 15 e 19 anos de idade, que estavam amamentando seus filhos durante o primeiro trimestre pós-parto. Os depoimentos das entrevistadas foram analisados com base na técnica de análise de conteúdo, modalidade temática e interpretados à luz do referencial teórico da Pesquisa Qualitativa em Saúde. Para estas mulheres, a essência da prática do aleitamento materno se constrói ao redor de sua preocupação em relação ao sucesso/insucesso da amamentação e do exercício de deveres inerentes ao ser mãe adolescente. Expressam sua preocupação em produzir leite em quantidade e qualidade suficiente, ter mamas aptas para amamentar e conseguir que o bebê mamasse efetivamente. Assim mesmo, manifestam sentir o dever de ser responsáveis e amamentar, vencer o cansaço e a dor, pensar no bem-estar do filho e aceitar as mudanças que a maternidade e a amamentação imprimiram nos seus corpos. Reafirmam o conceito de amamentação como prática histórico-social aprendida. Grande ênfase é dada ao papel do profissional de saúde e do meio social como mediadores da aprendizagem e rede de suporte à amamentação. A partir dos resultados deste estudo sugerimos a necessidade de refletir sobre nossa função assistencial na promoção, proteção e apoio ao aleitamento materno neste grupo etário. / Along the present study we analyze breastfeeding from the point of view of a group of low income teenage breastfeeding mothers, living in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Our aim was to understand how these women experienced breastfeeding and to identify factors that contributed in the construction of such experiences. We assumed that teenage mothers felt their role as breast-feeders as an everyday activity, where persistence or preclusion depend on factors established both by culture and Nature. This qualitative research was carried out on a group of 12 teenage mothers, between 15 and 19 years old, that were breastfeeding during the first three months after delivered. The interviews were analyzed based on content analysis technique, thematic nodes and interpreted following Qualitative Health Research Theory. For these women, the essence of breastfeeding practice is built around their concerns regarding successful/failure breastfeeding and their tasks perceived as teenage mothers. They express their worries in terms of being able to produce both qualitative and quantitatively enough milk, having breasts able of breastfeed and being capable to establish an effective latch-on. In addition, they show concerns of being responsible and breastfeed even when tired or harmed, always thinking about their sons well-being and accepting the changes on their bodies perceived due to motherhood and breastfeeding. Teenage women reassure breastfeeding as a socio-historical practice. The health care provider and the teenagers significant others were emphasized as breastfeeding counsellors and main breastfeeding support network. The outcome of this study raises some question regarding our role as breastfeeding promoters for teenage mothers.

Master of Public Health - MPH / Teenage childbearing interferes with girls' educational attainment in many settings, as it frequently marks the end of their schooling. While the right to education is guaranteed in the Constitution and its Education Act of 2004, which include clauses supportive of girls' continuing their education during pregnancy and after childbirth, data show that many teenage girls do not return to school after childbirth. According to official figures, 10 out of 18 teenage mothers in the Seychelles did not return to school in 2013. A young girl terminating her education early because of pregnancy may have negative social, economic and health consequences for the individual and for the Seychelles as a country. To avoid the negative consequences that may result from pregnant teenage girls not completing school, it is important to explore the facilitating and hindering factors to young mothers returning to school after childbirth in the Seychelles. This research aimed to explore the factors that influence teenage mothers to return to school after childbirth in Seychelles. A qualitative research methodology was used, where in-depth interviews were conducted with twelve young women who were teenage mothers, and with four key informants. Amongst the young women, six had returned to school after childbirth, and six had not return to school after childbirth. The key informants were professionals including a school counsellor, a schoolteacher, a counsellor working with young mothers, as well as a professional working with a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) that targets out of school young pregnant girls. Purposive sampling was used to access the research participants. The content of the interviews was transcribed and then analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicated that there were numerous factors influencing a young mother’s decision to return to school after childbirth in Seychelles. These were not limited to individual level factors such as the internal motivation of the young mothers to achieve a better future for themselves and their child, but also included other immediate and broader influential factors. Family support was crucial in determining whether a young mother would return to school after childbirth. Furthermore, the school environment was not always conducive to the retention of the teenage mothers, as often teachers’ attitudes, the rigid grade system and school uniform policy acted as deterrents for those young girls’ school return. Additionally, the school policy for pregnant learners and teenage mothers, and the lack of welfare assistance, were other hindering factors to the young women's return to school. These factors were often interconnected, and collectively impacted on those teenage mothers' decision to return to school. Teenage mothers and their children are two vulnerable groups in society. Pregnant girls dropping out of school after delivery can contribute to the chain of poverty in Seychelles, as this leads to their having lower educational attainment, reduced employment and career development opportunities. To address the issue of teenage mothers not returning to school after childbirth in Seychelles, it is important to have better mechanisms that will together tackle the multiple factors influencing their return to school. This involves adopting a health promotion approach using the Ottawa Charter. This would be done by adopting healthy policies and creating a supportive school environment with regard to teenage mothers and pregnant learners and would include the Ministry of Education working in partnership with other sectors so as to adopt a comprehensive approach to teenage mothers and schooling.

M.Cur. / Please refer to full text to view abstract

M.A. (Social Science) / Adolescent pregnancy and motherhood have been given considerable attention in the South African education system. Before 1994 pregnant adolescents were expelled from school (as the policy then stipulated) until they delivered their babies. With the adoption of new national legislation, current policies, the South African Schools Act no 84 of 1996 emphasise that equal education must be provided for all learners, thus abolishing the exclusion of pregnant learners from mainstream education. This study explored support provided to teenage mothers who return to school. The research approach of the research was qualitative in nature. The research design was exploratory and descriptive. The target population was teenage mothers who returned to either of the only two high schools situated in Reiger Park. The sampling strategy was non-probability sampling. The data collection methods were semi-structured interview schedules, observation and a tape recorder. The data were analysed by with the assistance of a qualitative context analysis. The findings suggested that participants experienced support from their families and community as a vital role in being a teenage mother, as they experienced being a teenage mother to be life changing. It was found that the families and community of the teenage mothers provide various kind of support to them to enable them to return to school. Although they had the support of their families and in some cases their boyfriends, the responsibilities of raising a child at such a young age placed heavy burdens on them. The general consensus from all the participants was that their children became the centre of their lives. Practice guidelines for social workers were established to improve the provision of support to teenage mothers who do not receive support from their families and community.

This dissertation is a mixed methods analysis investigating postpartum depression as it is experienced by self-reported depressed Mexican American adolescent and adult mothers. The qualitative portion of this study explores pregnancy and motherhood to better understand meanings attached to depression. Six adolescent and six adult mothers, were recruited from the Dallas/Fort-Worth area. Each was interviewed twice, using semi-structured interview guides. The quantitative phase utilizes a national sample of self-reported depressed Hispanic mothers to identify breastfeeding behavior and mothers' perceptions of the physical health of their babies. Specifically, a secondary analysis of the National Survey of Children's Health, 2003 was used to supplement the qualitative data. This study provides a theoretical framework of fragmented identity to explain socio-cultural factors contributing to postpartum depression among Mexican American adolescent and adult mothers. Common themes leading to a fragmented identify were indentified. Contributors to postpartum depression include: unplanned pregnancy, internal struggle between cultures, body image and family conflict. Stigma associated with teen motherhood also contributed to depression among adolescent mothers while the medicalization of childbirth was a contributing factor of depression among the adult mothers. Additionally, the duration of breastfeeding and mothers' perceptions of their babies' physical health were impacted by depression, but breastfeeding initiation was not.

The objective of this study was to inquire into the educational experiences of pregnant and parenting adolescents enrolled in a pregnant minor program and represent their voices by documenting this inquiry. This is a qualitative study that utilized phenomenological perspective and included a series of three in-depth interviews with six pregnant and parenting students. The focus and aim of the study was to represent the participant's voices on their educational experiences. The participants were pregnant teenagers attending a program in Southern California in the United States of America.

This needs assessment was conducted by 11 graduate students and their advisor from the Portland State University Graduate School of Social Work. The purpose was to determine the needs of adolescent mothers in Washington County and report the findings to the Washington County Task Force on Adolescent Pregnancy. Data for this needs assessment was compiled from three sources: social indicators (data), service providers, and target population responses.

There is much information about the incidence of adolescent pregnancy yet little attention has been directed to how this process will interrupt the working towards or completion of the developmental tasks of adolescence. It is our belief that completion of these tasks is crucial in relation to moving into the next stage, adulthood. Public interest and concern for the contemporary needs of pregnant adolescents and school age parents as a special group is still fairly novel. Survey findings revealed that adolescent parents still have great need for infant day care services, direct financial assistance, housing arrangements, education, and parenting education. In this study, a service provider to teenage adolescents who are pregnant, Salem Teen Mother's Program, was examined in depth to assess the components of their program which assist with working toward completion of the tasks. Additionally, we looked at two cohorts of girls. Those that accepted and those that rejected the offered services at the Teen Mother's Program and developed a profile on each girl consisting of the following traits: age, marital status, religious preference, employment status, and race; the purpose being, to compare the two groups to see if there are reasons why they accept or reject participation in the program. Following completion of the profile, we then looked at the elements of the Teen Mother's Program and how they generally address the tasks. The review of the literature examines why teens get pregnant, statistics on pregnancy, an explanation of how various programs have helped, and the medical risks associated with teenage pregnancy. A description of the Salem Teen Mother's Program is presented.