Young Motherhood Research Articles

Reproductive technologies as social innovations in the system of public health

The article is devoted to such important problem as Russians’ reproductive health worsening that defines health of posterity and viability of generations, and appreciably impacts on the birth rate. Statistics of contraception among women of reproductive age, statistics of induced abortions occurrence, statistics of primary, and secondary infertility are investigated. Data of Public Opinion Foundation on problems of child-free marriages and reproductive rights of citizens are given. Results of medical, scientific centers about additional reproductive technologies practice such as in vitro fertilization (EKO), surrogate motherhood, etc. are shown. The importance of state support of these technologies and liberalization of legal control of the realization of a desire to be parents as the most important tool of demographic policy is emphasized. The questions of raising the public importance of family planning, sex education, family and moral values among young formation, healthy lifestyle, responsible motherhood and paternity are explored in the article.

Maternal conflicts of Vietnamese married immigrant women in Korea

The purpose of the study was to identify and explain the essences and structures of maternal conflicts in Vietnamese married immigrant women in Korea. A phenomenological methodology was used for the study. Eleven Vietnamese married immigrant women participated in the study. Verbatim transcripts were analyzed using Colaizzi's method. Four categories, 10 clusters and 26 themes emerged from the data for the experience in maternal conflicts of Vietnamese married immigrant women. The four categories were 'An unprepared young motherhood in another culture', 'Feeling left out of the mother's place along the bands of Nap tai tradition', 'My image is like not-being able to stand alone/be independent' and 'Finding hope in motherhood despite of conflicts and stigmas'. Vietnamese married immigrant women experienced not only the negative aspects but also sublimation of maternal conflicts. Based on the results, health professionals need to develop effective nursing interventions toward a positive maternal identity and approach with interculturalism for the Vietnamese married immigrant women in Korea.

Effects of young maternal age and short interpregnancy interval on infant mortality in South Asia

One in 14 births to young mothers in Bangladesh, India, Nepal, and Pakistan ends with the death of a child within the first year [1]. Recent analysis of nationally representative data from these nations documents that young maternal age at birth and short interpregnancy interval are significant drivers of infant death among births to young mothers. The aim of the present study was to quantify the proportion of infant deaths attributable to these factors. Using the most recent nationally representative Demographic and Health Survey (DHS) data [2], nation-specific logistic regression analyses were conducted to assess associations of younger maternal age at birth (<18 years vs ≥18 years) and preceding interpregnancy interval (<24 months vs ≥24 months or firstborn) with infant mortality among births to 15-24 year olds. Based on multivariate regression models, the percent of infant deaths attributable to each independent variable of interest was quantified using the population attributable fraction [3]. Population attributable fractions were then applied to 2012 population estimates [4] and age-specific fertility rates [2] to produce an estimate of the number of infant deaths attributable to the factors of interest. Local institutional review board approvals were obtained for DHS data collection, and institutional review board approval was obtained from the University of California, San Diego, USA, for the present analyses. The findings demonstrate that both young maternal age and short interpregnancy interval significantly increase the risk for infant mortality in India and Pakistan, contributing to 23%-26% (>200 000 in 2012) of infant deaths to young mothers in those nations (Table 1). In Bangladesh, only short interpregnancy interval was linked to infant mortality, accounting for 7% of infant deaths to young mothers. In Nepal, young motherhood but not short interpregnancy interval was associated with infant death. Table 1 Associations of young maternal age at birth and short interpregnancy intervals with infant deaths among births to young mothers a The results highlight the importance of delayed marriage and improved contraceptive use among young people as a means of reducing infant mortality rates in South Asia. Although both of the studied factors were not consistently associated with infant deaths across nations, child marriage, young motherhood, and low contraceptive use among adolescent wives are concerns in all of the nations assessed [2]. Nonetheless, India and Pakistan require the greatest focus on these issues. The present findings could, in part, be attributed to the use of older data in India and Pakistan relative to Bangladesh and Nepal; however, India and Pakistan are not on track to achieve Millennium Development Goal 4: the reduction of under-5 mortality by two-thirds between 1990 and 2015. Inadequate progress on contraceptive use and delaying marriage may be impeding this achievement for these nations. Analysis of more recent data, when available, is needed to confirm the study findings.

The Meaning of Motherhood

This article looks at how a group of marginalized young women, in the Dominican Republic, understand the experience of becoming a mother at an early age. The dominant global discourse on adolescent motherhood problematizes the phenomenon. Methodologically flawed scholarship typically attributes adolescent motherhood to poor economic and education outcomes. Little research exists examining the voices of young mothers themselves. The author aims to fill this gap and contribute a better understanding of how a group of disenfranchised young females narrate the experience of motherhood and its significance using a qualitative research design. Narratives suggest that adolescent motherhood may provide unconditional love, a sense of purpose in life, hope for future financial support and an alternative pathway to adulthood for poor Dominican Haitian adolescent females. Findings contrast with the dominant discourse on teen motherhood, indicating a need for researcher and policy to reexamine the costs and benefits of young motherhood.

Intergenerational transmission of young motherhood. Evidence from Sweden, 1986–2009

This study examines the intergenerational transmission of fertility patterns from mothers who had their first birth at young ages to their daughters using nationally representative longitudinal data from from population registers in Sweden, 1986–2009. It tests several mechanisms, including education, labor market attachment, socio-economic background, and family characteristics, that may intervene with the intergenerational transmission of reproductive behavior, to help explain to what extent and how early motherhood is reproduced across generations. We find that maternal age at first birth is a very strong determinant of daughters' entry into motherhood. Even after controlling for individual, background, and family factors, daughters of mothers who were relatively young when they started childbearing, are significantly more likely to have their first birth at young ages.

Raising Them Right

This body of work explores young motherhood in Chelsea, Massachusetts. Through the combination of photographs and the young mothers’ own words, Amanda Van Scoyoc presents evidence of the complicated reality that is adolescent parenting.

Young Mothers, Delinquent Children

Young motherhood is a risk factor for the child’s delinquency. Few studies, however, have attempted to unpack the mediating factors that underlie this relationship. The current study assessed factors that mediate the association between maternal age at childbirth (MAC) and the child’s delinquency using nationally representative data from the United States. Findings revealed that MAC predicted the child’s delinquency in adolescence. The link between MAC and delinquency was not mediated by parenting factors, neighborhood factors, or the child’s level of self-control. Instead, the MAC effect was completely mediated by the child’s level of exposure to drug-using peers.

‘Rebuilding after the storm’

This research aimed to listen, and make sense of, stories of young motherhood from the perspectives of two cohorts: ‘mothers of young mothers’ and ‘young mothers’, and to explore how shared stories of motherhood were constructed in particular social, interpersonal and cultural contexts. A narrative approach was taken to the interviews and analysis. Twelve women were invited to ‘tell their story’ about becoming and being a mother and a mother of a young mother. There were a number of shared plots as well as diversities across and within cohorts, with three acts resembling a series of progressive and regressive phases: (1) derailment; (2) a bumpy, terrifying and fun ride, full of surprises; (3) coming to terms with reality: better equipped for the future. Located within personal stories were key cultural narratives which demonstrated how mothers’ individual experiences were informed by societal expectations. The contribution of these narratives to existing theoretical literature; wider clinical implications; the political context; and future research are discussed. The process of conducting this research has clearly illustrated the power, diversity, and authenticity of listening to mothers’ stories at different stages of their mothering journey.

The transformative potential of young motherhood for disadvantaged Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Townsville, Australia

To explore attitudes to pregnancy and parenthood among a group of Indigenous young people in Townsville, Australia. Mixed methods and a cross-sectional design involving Indigenous women from a Young Mums Group designing the research instruments and acting as peer interviewers. Data were collected in 2004 from young Indigenous people who had never been pregnant (171 students at three high schools and 15 people at a homeless youth shelter) using a computer-assisted self-administered survey; from 59 of this group who also participated in single sex focus group discussions; and from 10 pregnant and parenting young women in individual semi-structured interviews. Self-reported attitudes and behaviour about aspirations, pregnancy and parenthood. Only eight of 186 young Indigenous people who had never been pregnant reported wanting to have a child as a teenager. Large proportions of this group of 186 reported idealised views about pregnancy, particularly young men, with 50.5% reporting that being a parent would always be enjoyable, and 62.6% reporting that being a mother or a father would not change their lives. Idealised views were associated with earlier sexual initiation (P = 0.001). Issues identified in the narratives of young mothers related to difficult backgrounds, pregnancy "just happening" to them, and the transformative impact of having a child on their lives and aspirations. Accurate parenting information may be necessary to address unrealistic views about parenting among Indigenous young people. Young Indigenous parents often come from extremely disadvantaged backgrounds, and becoming a parent may be the impetus for positive change.

Selecting and fitting graphical chain models to longitudinal data

The aim of this paper is to demonstrate how graphical chain models can be used as effective tools in life course research focusing in particular on models for longitudinal prospective data. The substantive research question focuses on whether young motherhood is a pathway through which socio-economic disadvantage in childhood is related to poor self-reported health in adulthood among the 1970 British birth cohort. By breaking down large multivariate systems into simpler more tractable subcomponents and analysing them via local regressions, graphical models help the understanding of complicated life course processes, show the intermediate relationships between predictors, and aid the understanding of the mechanisms through which potential confounding and mediating factors affect the outcome of interest.

Young mother (in the) hood: gang girls' negotiation of new identities

This article examines the experiences of young women in street gangs who become mothers. Drawing on qualitative interviews with 65 young women in the San Francisco, CA, Bay Area, we examine their narratives about the transition to motherhood. In particular, we focus on the ways these young women negotiate femininities and attempt to reconcile their identities as young mothers and gang girls – both stigmatized identities. For many of the young women, motherhood entails a retreat from the street and a renewed emphasis on time spent in the home. While many receive (financial and childcare) support from their families, this also often means a diminution of the autonomy they experienced while more heavily involved in the gang. Issues of respect and respectability remain important for the young women, but the dimensions on which these are based change.

Empowering Young Sex Workers for Safer Sex in Dowa and Lilongwe Districts of Malawi

Selling of sex for money and other materials has increasingly become a popular means of making money and acquiring materials for young girls especially in the urban areas in Malawi1. Scores of young people are seen loitering the street corners of some hotels, casinos, bars and other places of entertainment. The young girls are also seen to frequent disco houses and patronising other places of entertainment. The girls seduce men or vice versa, they are coaxed into having quick sex in exchange for money. In a needs assessment study in Lilongwe and Dowa districts of central Malawi (FPAM, 2004), 61% young sex workers solely depended on earnings from sex work for their living1. Worse still, these young girls are subjected to unprotected sex for various reasons which include failure to access condoms and pressure from their clients who bargain to pay more if they do not use a condom. The consequences that arise from this situation include infection with STIs including HIV, adolescent/teen age pregnancy leading to young motherhood or unsafe abortions. The majority of the young women were knowledgeable on the transmission, signs and symptoms and prevention of HIV and other STIs. The young women indicated that they were aware of the relationship between ‘prostitution’ and HIV and AIDS. 72.2% acknowledged to having had an unprotected sex and 21.3% indicated that they have had an STI before. Although prostitution is illegal in Malawi, it is still a popular trade among young girls because they regard it as an easy way of getting money and other materials. In 2004 Family Planning Association of Malawi (FPAM) with financial assistance from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) implemented an intervention targeting sex workers in places of entertainment by cooperating with owners of disco houses, pubs and other forms of entertainment places (proprietors), through working with the disco jockeys and some willing sex workers. The intervention project employed various IEC media to provide short but moving talks, stories and other messages that would empower and encourage the sex workers to insist on correct and consistent use of the condoms regardless of how much a client is willing to pay. The messages were also designed to encourage the young sex workers to modify their behaviour and withdraw from the practice and opt for other sources of generating income and earning a living. This study investigated the role of involving sex workers as peer educators and owners of disco houses, pubs, disco jockeys as partners in an IEC campaign to empower young sex workers to reduce STI infections including HIV.

Does Maternal Age Affect Children's Test Scores?

Abstract We estimate the relationship between maternal age and child outcomes, using indices aimed at measuring overall outcomes, learning outcomes and social outcomes. In all cases, we find evidence that children of older mothers have better outcomes. Not only do children born to mothers in their twenties do better than children born to teen mothers, but children born to mothers in their thirties do better than children born to mothers in their twenties. However, when we control for other socioeconomic characteristics, such as family income, parental education and single parenthood, the coefficients on maternal age become small and statistically insignificant. The only exception is an index of social outcomes, which is positively associated with maternal age, even controlling for socioeconomic factors. For cognitive outcomes, young motherhood appears to be a marker, not a cause, of poor child outcomes.

Renewal and Risk: The Dual Experience of Young Motherhood and Aging Out of the Child Welfare System

This interpretive study examines how childhood history and the personal experience of being mothered impact the meaning attributed to motherhood among young mothers aging out of the child welfare system. Through the use of an interpretive approach, findings are derived from interviews with 15 females who reported an experience of pregnancy or parenting at the time of the interview. In the midst of the strain and challenge of motherhood, these young women report that motherhood has the potential to provide opportunities relevant to their own identity as well as to healing from their pasts. Findings aim to inform ways of understanding and responding to the unique and dual experience of mothering and aging out of the child welfare system.

What a Difference a Decade Makes: Rethinking Teenage Pregnancy as a Problem

The Teenage Pregnancy Strategy (TPS) has been implemented in England since 1999 and has two aims: to halve under 18s conceptions; and to reduce the risk of social exclusion among young mothers. The TPS portrays young motherhood as problematic, the cause of poor outcomes. Yet, the problematisation of teenage fertility has been contested, especially by qualitative researchers who have demonstrated that early motherhood can be experienced positively. This research is discussed here, as are findings from a small-scale study in three English locations, where teenage mothers reported good experiences of parenthood. The discrepancy between these accounts of motherhood and policy is considered.

Teenage mothers’ experiences of stigma

This article is concerned with exploring the impact of stigma upon teenage mothers. Drawing upon the findings of in-depth interviews with 20 teenage mothers, the study explores the ways and contexts within which stigma is experienced and identifies differential effects and coping mechanisms reported by the participants. Thereafter, it is suggested that, within many teenage mothers’ families of origin, there exists a value system within which young motherhood is worthy and esteemed, a tradition at odds with contemporary ideals for motherhood. The discussion then considers the disjunction between the problematical perception of teenage motherhood among policy-makers and the views of teenage mothers themselves, and goes on to suggest possible implications of such contradictions for New Labour's social policy interventions into the lives of young people.

Daytime Cortisol Secretion in 6-Month-Old Twins: Genetic and Environmental Contributions as a Function of Early Familial Adversity

Dysregulation of daytime cortisol activity has been associated with stress-related pathologies. Research suggests that early environmental adversity might shape cortisol activity. However, little is known about the genetic and environmental contributions to early cortisol and how this varies as a function of environmental circumstances. The goals of the study were to estimate the genetic and environmental contributions to daytime cortisol secretion in infant twins and to investigate whether these contributions varied as a function of familial adversity (FA). Participants were 517 6-month-old twins. Salivary cortisol was collected when the infants woke up at home and in the morning, upon arrival at the laboratory. Familial adversity was defined by seven perinatal and postnatal risk factors: maternal smoking during pregnancy, low birth weight, low family income, low maternal education, single parenthood, young motherhood, and maternal hostile/reactive behaviors. Genetic and environment contributions to cortisol activity were estimated for high (three risk factors or more: 21.3% of the sample) versus low FA. Genetic factors accounted for cortisol levels in different ways: a moderate "main effect" of genes was found for home-based awakening cortisol, whereas the contribution of genes to morning cortisol was conditional to FA. Genetic factors accounted for most of the variance in morning cortisol in high family adversity but not in low family adversity. Early FA modulates the heritability of morning cortisol in infants. The results are consistent with the diathesis-stress model, with genetic factors more likely to be expressed in adverse settings.

A tradeoff between reproduction and growth in contemporary Finnish women

Women have been suggested to trade growth in height for reproduction, as an earlier age at menarche and first birth seem to be related to shorter adult stature. Although women likely accrue fitness benefits by maturing and starting reproduction at young age, short adult stature may be selected against by natural and sexual selection later in their life. We studied how age at menarche and first reproduction affected adult height and whether adult height in turn was related to lifetime reproductive success in Finnish women born 1946–1958. Our results show that a delay of 1 year in age at menarche and first reproduction was related to a 0.43- and 0.20-cm increase in adult height, respectively. The sex of the first-born offspring was not related to adult height. Moreover, women gained fitness benefits by starting reproduction early but not by growing tall. These findings among Finnish women are thus compatible with tradeoffs between reproduction and growth, by showing a compromised adult height at the cost of early age at menarche and first birth. However, in these women, natural selection favored those women who traded their stature for young motherhood.

Variations in Heritability of Cortisol Reactivity to Stress as a Function of Early Familial Adversity Among 19-Month-Old Twins

Cortisol reactivity is a marker of vulnerability for a variety of stress-related diseases that likely arise from the contributions of both genetic and environmental sources of influence. However, little is known about gene-environment interplay in early cortisol reactivity. To examine the genetic and environmental contributions to early cortisol reactivity in a population-based sample of 19-month-old twins and to determine whether these contributions vary as a function of early familial adversity. A variant of the twin method, with genetic and environment contributions to cortisol reactivity estimated as a function of familial adversity. Familial adversity was defined as the presence of 7 risk factors during perinatal and postnatal development (eg, at 6 and 19 months of age): maternal smoking during pregnancy, low birth weight, low family income, low maternal educational level, single parenthood, young motherhood, and maternal hostile or reactive behaviors. Twins exposed to 4 or more risk factors at either time were considered as having been exposed to high (vs low) familial adversity (23.4% of the sample). Centre de Recherche Fernand-Seguin at the Hôpital Louis-Hyppolite Lafontaine, Montréal, Quebec. Patients Participants were families of twins from the Québec Newborn Twin Study recruited between April 1, 1995, and December 31, 1998, in the greater Montréal area. A total of 346 twins, 130 monozygotic and 216 dizygotic, were included in the study. Salivary cortisol samples were collected before and after the participating twins had been exposed to unfamiliar situations; change in cortisol over time was used as a measure of cortisol reactivity. Distinct patterns of genetic and environmental contributions to cortisol reactivity were evidenced as a function of familial adversity, suggesting a possible gene-environment interplay. In low-familial adversity settings that characterized most families, both genetic and unique but not shared environmental factors accounted for individual differences in cortisol reactivity, with shared genes explaining the similarity observed within twin pairs. By contrast, in conditions of high familial adversity, both shared and unique environmental factors, but not genetic factors, accounted for the variance in cortisol reactivity. This pattern of differing genetic and environmental contributions according to familial adversity suggests that, early in life, high familial adversity may have a programming developmental effect on cortisol reactivity.

The joint development of physical and indirect aggression: Predictors of continuity and change during childhood

A person-oriented approach was adopted to examine joint developmental trajectories of physical and indirect aggression. Participants were 1183 children aged 2 years at the initial assessment and followed over 6 years. Most children followed either low or declining trajectories of physical aggression (PA), but 14.6% followed high stable trajectories. Approximately two-thirds of participants followed low indirect aggression (IA) trajectories (67.9%), and one-third (32.1%) followed high rising trajectories. The results combining both PA and IA group memberships indicate that most children (62.1%) exhibit desisting levels of PA and low levels of IA. A significant proportion followed a trajectory of moderately desisting PA and rising IA (14.2%), and 13.5% followed high level trajectories of both forms of aggression. Virtually no children were high on one type and low on the other. Multinomial regressions analyses were used to predict joint trajectory group membership from selected child and family variables measured at 2 years. Young motherhood and low income predicted membership in the high PA-high IA trajectory, but only hostile parenting remained significant after family processes variables were entered in the model. Being a boy, young motherhood, and hostile parenting were generally associated with higher levels of PA. Girls were more likely than boys to follow a trajectory of desisting PA and rising IA. The results suggest that some children, mostly girls, reduce their use of PA and tend to increase their use of IA, and that highly physically aggressive children also tend to be highly indirectly aggressive. Early family risk characteristics and hostile parenting interfere with the socialization of aggression.