Unmarried Pregnant Adolescents Research Articles

A Case Study of the Management of the Private Shelter for Unmarried Pregnant Adolescents

In Malaysia, one of the most worrying issues for the community, especially parents is the case of unmarried pregnant among adolescents. However, few parents and members of the community are truly sensitive to the threat of this social problem. Various efforts are being made by the government and non-government agencies to help these adolescents to reduce the problem. One of them is to create temporary shelters to guide and help the adolescents to move forward with their lives towards a more positive path. Nevertheless, these efforts can either have a positive or negative impact on the adolescents involved if the shelters are not properly managed. This qualitative study was conducted to explore aspects of management in a shelter set up specifically for unmarried pregnant adolescents. The results of the interviews with the shelter operator were transcribed fully before being analyzed thematically. The results of the study found that the nature of wanting to help and high perseverance had prompted the operator to set up a shelter specifically for unmarried pregnant adolescents. The shelter was found to gain strong social support. Among the support provided is from individuals or groups which include free academic teaching, food supply, daily necessities, finance for utilities, in addition to the creation of a comfortable physical environment. The operator also used social networks such as close friends to help manage the residents at the shelter. In addition, social media was also utilized by the operator so that many individuals provide assistance to maintain the management of the shelter. This study contributes to the management of shelter for adolescent girls especially unmarried pregnant adolescents.

INTRA KONFLIK DALAM KALANGAN REMAJA MENGANDUNG LUAR NIKAH: PENDEKATAN ART THERAPY

The emergence of unmarried adolescent pregnancy is perceived as a health and social problem resulting in psychosocial consequences. This study discusses the psychological conflicts experienced by adolescents who become pregnant out of wedlock using the Art Therapy approach which involves methods of scratching, drawing and colouring. Art therapy is a form of creative intervention innovation which allows understanding the burden of psychological conflict borne by the marginal group of adolescents who become pregnant unplanned, unexpected and undesirable. Study data was obtained from the results of the drawings and followed by unstructured interviews in the effort to understand the psychological conflict experienced by referring to the symbols in the drawings. The findings of the study through the transcript of unstructured interviews focused on several drawings from the Art Therapy session with reference to the variety of symbols in the study samples’ drawings. The symbols from the study samples’ drawings are grouped by theme based on the psychological conflict of adolescents conceiving and giving birth out of wedlock. This study depicts that the Art Therapy approach can be used to explore and understand the complicated psychological conflicts experienced by the unmarried pregnant adolescents. Studies prove that the Art Therapy Approach is a form of creative intervention innovation.

Qualitative evaluation of the Teenage Mothers Project in Uganda: a community-based empowerment intervention for unmarried teenage mothers

BackgroundA large proportion of unmarried teenage mothers in Uganda face physical, psychological, and social problems after pregnancy and childbirth, such as obstetric complications, lack of education, and stigmatisation in their communities. The Teenage Mothers Project (TMP) in Eastern Uganda empowers unmarried teenage mothers to cope with the consequences of early pregnancy and motherhood. Since 2000, 1036 unmarried teenage mothers, their parents, and community leaders participated in economic and social empowerment interventions. The present study explored the changes resulting from the TMP as well as factors that either enabled or inhibited these changes.MethodsSemi-structured interviews (N = 23) were conducted with former teenage mothers , community leaders, and project implementers, and lifeline histories were obtained from former teenage mothers (N = 9). Quantitative monitoring data regarding demographic and social characteristics of teenage mother participants (N = 1036) were analysed.ResultsThe findings suggest that, overall, the TMP seems to have contributed to the well-being of unmarried teenage mothers and to a supportive social environment. It appears that the project contributed to supportive community norms towards teenage mothers’ position and future opportunities, increased agency, improved coping with early motherhood and stigma, continued education, and increased income generation by teenage mothers. The study findings also suggest limited change in disapproving community norms regarding out-of-wedlock sex and pregnancy, late active enrolment of teenage mothers in the project (i.e., ten months after delivery of the child), and differences in the extent to which parents provided support.ConclusionsIt is concluded that strengths of the community-based TMP seem to be its socio-ecological approach, the participatory planning with community leaders and other stakeholders, counselling of parents and unmarried teenage mothers, and the emphasis on education and income generation. The project can improve by earlier active participation of unmarried pregnant adolescents and increased support for parents.

Seeking safety and empathy: Adolescent health seeking behavior during pregnancy and early motherhood in central Uganda

Purpose To explore adolescent health seeking behavior during pregnancy and early motherhood in order to contribute to health policy formulation and improved access to health care. This will in long-term have an impact on the reduction of morbidity and mortality among adolescent mothers and their newborns. Methods This was a qualitative study that employed focus group discussions (FGDs) among adolescent girls (10–19 years) and key informant (KI) interviews with health workers. Age for FGD participants ranged from 16 to 19 years. The FGD participants were recruited while seeking antenatal care for their first pregnancy or immunization service for their first child, not being older than 6 months. Six health facilities were selected. Key informants were purposefully selected on the basis of being in-charge of maternity units. Thirteen FGDs comprising of a total of 92 adolescent girls were conducted. The FGDs were held with homogeneously constituted categories; married pregnant adolescents (5), unmarried pregnant adolescents (3) and married or not married adolescents with children (5). Semi structured interviews were held with six KIs who were in-charge of maternity units of health facilities. Latent content analysis technique was used for data analysis. Results Two main themes emerged; ‘feeling exposed and powerless’, and ‘seeking safety and empathy’. The categories identified in the first theme were “the dilemma of becoming an adolescent mother” and “lack of decision power”. In the second theme the following categories were identified: “cultural practices and beliefs about birth”, “expectations and experiences”, “transport, a key determinant to health seeking”, and “dealing with constraints”. Adolescents felt exposed and powerless due to the dilemma of early motherhood and lack of decision making power. The adolescent mothers seemed to be in continuous quest for safety and empathy. In so doing they are part of cultural practices and beliefs about birth. They had expectations about the health care services but their experiences of the services were rather negative. Transport was a key determinant for health seeking and adolescents to some extent had learnt how to cope with constraints they face. Conclusion and implications Pregnant adolescents seek health care in both modern and traditional health sectors in order to get safety and empathy. However, our findings indicate that they mostly utilize the traditional sector because it is most accessible in terms of distance, cost and cultural context. Adolescent mothers are disempowered in decision making because of their pregnancy state which often puts them in dilemma. We therefore suggest that policy makers need to improve health systems (including the traditional sector) especially maternal health services for adolescent girls. Improved infrastructure and attitudes of health worker as well as training in delivery of adolescent health services is critical.

Unintended Pregnancy among Unmarried Adolescents and Young Women in Anambra State, South East Nigeria

This study identified the characteristics and factors influencing unintended pregnancy among unmarried young women in a rural community in south-east Nigeria. One hundred and thirty six unmarried teens with unintended pregnancy attending a Christian hospital in Ozubulu, a rural community in south-east Nigeria, from January 1998 to December 2001 were included in the study. Information was obtained using a semi-structured questionnaire and in-depth interview. Over 75% of the girls had their first sexual intercourse by 19 years, and over 69% had multiple partners. Over 95% had sex for economic reasons and exchanged sex for money or gifts. Only 13.5% ever used condoms. Ninety seven per cent suffered violence such as beating and verbal abuse from family members because of the pregnancy. Most of the adolescents or young women experienced major stressors, most importantly school and job termination, partner's negative attitude, religious sanction, discrimination and stigmatisation as a result of the unintended pregnancy. Unmarried pregnant adolescents or young women have particular health and psychosocial problems. Stakeholders in adolescent health, namely, parents, teachers, religious groups and health care providers, should recognise these problems and advocate for the provision of appropriate care and youth-friendly services to help youths navigate through these problems.

Pregnancy in unmarried adolescents in Nigeria

A prospective study was conducted between January 1999 and December 2000 to determine the characteristics and pregnancy outcomes of 198 consecutive unmarried adolescents seen at the maternity unit of the Federal Medical Center Abakaliki in Nigeria. Unmarried pregnant adolescents constituted about 10.7% of the 1846 deliveries that occurred within the period of review. Most of these adolescents were students with older male partners and the sexual relationship had come about as a result of material need coercion or abuse. The study showed that such teenagers leave school during pregnancy with little hope of returning after the birth. It was also noted that there was a very low level of contraceptive awareness and use among these teenagers. Adoption was the preferred option for the pregnant teenagers whose parents or male partner were unwilling to cater for the expected baby. Consequently a lack of financial support was pivotal to their willingness to consider adoption. Hence sex education as well as access to reproductive health information and care will help reduce the occurrence of unwanted pregnancies and their lasting impact on adolescents their families and society as a whole.

Substance Use and Other Factors Associated with Risky Sexual Behavior among Pregnant Adolescents

A study of the relationship between substance use and risky sexual behavior was conducted among 241 unmarried pregnant adolescents aged 17 and younger who lived in a metropolitan area in the Northwest. The respondents had comparable or higher lifetime use rates for all substances than did women in a national sample of high school seniors, even though the pregnant adolescents were younger. Ninety-four percent had used alcohol, 78% marijuana, 30% cocaine and 30% stimulants, compared with 92%, 48%, 14% and 23%, respectively, among women in the national sample. Among the pregnant adolescents, 84% had had more than one sexual partner, 39% had had a sexually transmitted disease and 60% had used contraceptives during less than half of their sexual encounters. At the bivariate level, use of cigarettes and alcohol in general and use of alcohol and drugs during sex were positively associated with risky sexual behavior. However, when other characteristics associated with risky sexual behavior--family bonding, parental monitoring, commitment to conventional values, peer associations, self-esteem and delinquent activities--were included in the multivariate analysis, the effect of substance use disappeared.

Factors related to cigarette smoking during adolescent pregnancy

Previous research suggests that maternal smoking during pregnancy remains prevalent, particularly among adolescents. However, little is known about the factors related to smoking during adolescent pregnancy. The goal of the present study is to identify intrapersonal, familial, and peer factors that are related to smoking during adolescent pregnancy, and to determine the relative degree to which they affect this behavior. Interviews were conducted with 241 unmarried pregnant adolescents who planned to carry their pregnancies to term. Consistent with previous studies, 27% of the respondents reported daily smoking during pregnancy, and whites reported higher rates of use than members of other racial groups. Smoking during adolescent pregnancy was related to intrapersonal, familial, and peer factors. The results of a regression analysis suggest that perceived parental disapproval of smoking during pregnancy, friends' cigarette use, and race play a particularly important role in this behavior. The implications of these findings for preventive programs are discussed.

Drug use among pregnant adolescents.

Despite concern over the co-occurrence of substance use, unplanned pregnancy and other problem behaviors in adolescence, little information is available on substance use before, during, and after adolescent pregnancy. The authors report data from the first 100 Ss enrolled in an ongoing longitudinal study on drug use before and during pregnancy in adolescence. Unmarried pregnant adolescents, ages 17 and under, were recruited for the study from urban alternative school programs and community social and health service agencies. Findings indicate that although lifetime prevalence of drug use was relatively high and pregnant respondents appear embedded in drug prevalent environments, substance use declined voluntarily and substantially during pregnancy. Prepregnancy drug use predicted substance use during pregnancy, but neither best friends' nor boyfriends' use of alcohol or marijuana predicted subjects' use of these substances during pregnancy after taking prepregnancy use into account.

Unmarried Pregnant Adolescents: a Case for Counselling

The problems of unmarried pregnant adolescents in Nigeria are many and social and psychological in nature. These problems had for long been neglected by guidance counsellors and social workers. The attention of counsellors and social workers is being drawn to the need to awaken interest in this area so that serious effort can be made to change public attitude towards these adolescents.

Birth Control Knowledge and Attitudes among Unmarried Pregnant Adolescents: A Preliminary Report

In a preliminary report 169 unmarried adolescents predominantly black 85% in their middle teens registering for prenatal services in the Family Obstetrical Clinic of Sinai Hospital in Baltimore received a structured interview consisting of precoded items and open-ended questions by a trained interviewer in order to determine whether increased access to birth control was likely to decrease the incidence of premarital pregnancy. There was some degree of social disruption and/or economic deprivation for most of these teenagers. 53% had dropped out of school due to pregnancy. Patients came from working class families. 55% lived with both parents (in 1/3 of these 1 parent was a stepparent). Reports of sexual activity prior to pregnancy revealed most beginning relations 2-3 years after menarche 80% became pregnant the same year or year following first intercourse. More than 1/3 claimed to have had intercourse only 1 or 2 times before conceiving. Only 15% had relations more than once a week. 85% continued to see the father of the child. 2/3 were very upset when confronted with pregnancy. 41% had used some sort of birth control; 30% of these with some regularity. Condoms were most frequently used; douche suppositories jellies used by 22%. 7% were unable to define birth control and less than half the patients could identify at least 3 methods. The pill was the most frequently mentioned (78%) followed by condom (64%) and IUD (39%). Mass media and friends were the 2 greatest sources of birth control information. Most did not have access to birth control. 2/3 indicated a willingness to use contraception regularly. There were negative feelings on the safety and effectiveness of birth control.