Adolescent mothers' experiences of the transition to motherhood: An

integrative review

10 April 2019

Erfina, Widyawati, LisaMcKenna, SoniaReisenhofer, Djauhar Ismail

A woman experiences heightened vulnerability and faces tremendous

challenges when transitioning to motherhood. This is exacerbated for young
mothers and studies have shown that adolescent mothers experience an
increased burden of responsibility during the transition to motherhood.
Adolescents often become mothers without the necessary knowledge, skills and
resources to deal with early motherhood, which adds stress to their already
challenged developmental level.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S235201321830638
0)

Teenage Mothers Today: What We Know and How It Matters

Stefanie Mollborn 07 November 2016

Over the past two decades, births to U.S. teenagers have fallen and no longer
follow overall fertility patterns. Emerging societal trends such as complex
family structures, a stalled recovery from the recession for families of low
socioeconomic status, and a rapidly evolving political environment for
reproductive health care continue to challenge the lives of teenage mothers.
Given that the consequences for teenagers of becoming mothers may change,
continued research is needed. Shifts in policy to favor supporting teenage
mothers and addressing the causes of both teenage pregnancy and social
disadvantage may help improve the lives of these mothers and their families.
(https://srcd.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/cdep.12205)

Teenage Mothers, Stigma and Their 'Presentations of Self'

by Kyla Ellis-Sloan 28 Feb 2014

Teenage mothering is popularly linked to welfare dependency, promiscuity and

irresponsibility. As a result, young mothers report experiences of stigma and
discrimination. This paper builds on evidence of such experiences by using
first-hand qualitative accounts of young parents to attempt to understand how
young mothers cope with a stigmatising identity.
(http://www.socresonline.org.uk/19/1/9.html)

Early motherhood: a qualitative study exploring the experiences of

African Australian teenage mothers in greater Melbourne, Australia

Mimmie Claudine Ngum Chi Watts, Pranee Liamputtong & Celia

Mcmichael (2015)

Motherhood brings increased responsibilities, social recognition, and a sense of

purpose for young mothers. Despite the positive aspects of motherhood,
participants faced challenges that affected their lives. Most often, the
challenges included coping with increased responsibilities following the birth of
the baby, managing the competing demands of schooling, work and taking care
of a baby in a site of settlement. The young mothers indicated they received
good support from their mothers, siblings and close friends, but rarely from the
father of their baby and the wider community.
(https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12889-
015-2215-2)