A hopeful future: a qualitative investigation of positive psychological functioning in young mothers.

AIMS/BACKGROUND: Young mothers have reported facing specific challenges such as stigmatisation and social isolation, which may be exaggerated by the increasing maternal age in industrialised countries. Despite these challenges, some young mothers have been shown to exhibit resilience and confidence during the transition to parenthood. Using strength-based psychological concepts, this study aimed to identify the facilitators of and barriers to the development of positive psychological states in young Australian mothers. DESIGN/METHODS: Using semi-structured interview questions, 11 women who had given birth between 15 and 22 were asked to share their experiences of pregnancy, birth, and motherhood. Their responses were analysed using the Framework method; initially coding the data to a priori themes such as resilience and social support, and then to higher order themes. RESULTS: Five higher order themes were developed from participant responses: 1. Everything is about to change, 2. Disrespected and disempowered, 3. Resilience, 4. It takes a village, and 5. A hopeful future. Across these themes, participants described the mixed emotional experiences of pregnancy and birth, experiences of stigma from various sources, efforts to maintain mental wellbeing, reliance on support networks, and aspirations for themselves and their children. CONCLUSION: Findings from the current study highlight several key strategies for managing the challenges of early motherhood and promoting positive psychological states. Recommendations include fostering self-efficacy, supporting identity development, and establishing strong support networks across social and healthcare contexts. Recognizing and celebrating the strengths of young mothers is essential for effectively supporting them through the complex experience of motherhood.

Maternal age at birth and child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: causal association or familial confounding?

BACKGROUND: Causal explanations for the association of young motherhood with increased risk for child attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) remain unclear. METHODS: The ABCD Study recruited 11,878 youth from 22 sites across the United States between June 1, 2016 and October 15, 2018. This cross-sectional analysis of 8,514 children aged 8-11 years excluded 2,260 twins/triplets, 265 adopted children, and 839 younger siblings. We examined associations of maternal age with ADHD clinical range diagnoses based on the Child Behavior Checklist and NIH Toolbox Flanker Attention Scores using mixed logistic and linear regression models, respectively. We conducted confounding and causal mediation analyses using genotype array, demographic, socioeconomic, and prenatal environment data to investigate which genetic and environmental variables may explain the association between young maternal age and child ADHD. RESULTS: In crude models, each 10-year increase in maternal age was associated with 32% decreased odds of ADHD clinical range diagnosis (OR = 0.68; 95% CI [0.59, 0.78]) and 1.09-points increased NIH Flanker Attention Scores (ß = 1.09; 95% CI [0.76, 1.41]), indicating better child visual selective attention. However, adjustment for confounders weakened these associations. The strongest confounders were family income, caregiver education, and ADHD polygenic risk score for ADHD clinical range diagnoses, and family income, caregiver education, and race/ethnicity for NIH Flanker Attention Scores. Breastfeeding duration, prenatal alcohol exposure, and prenatal tobacco exposure were responsible for up to 18%, 6%, and 4% mediation, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Socioeconomic disadvantages were likely the primary explanation for the association of young maternal age with child ADHD, although genetics and modifiable environmental factors also played a role. Public policies aimed at reducing the burden of ADHD associated with young motherhood should target socioeconomic inequalities and support young pregnant women by advocating for reduced prenatal tobacco exposure and healthy breastfeeding practices after childbirth.

A phenomenological study on recurrent teenage pregnancies in effutu municipality- Ghana.the experiences of teenage mothers.

BACKGROUND: Generally, recurrent teenage pregnancies are public health menaces that impede the quality of life of teenage mothers, their offspring, and society as a whole. However, there is paucity of information regarding factors influencing this social issue especially, in developing countries where Ghana is no exception. Moreover, this menace has been least investigated from the perspective of the teenager with multiple pregnancies. Hence, this study aimed at identifying the factors influencing recurrent teenage pregnancies and the challenges confronted by these teenage mothers. METHOD: This study is a phenomenological qualitative study that was conducted in the Effutu Municipality in the Central Region of Ghana. Employing convenience and snowball sampling, 40 participants who were residents of the study area, had a child each, and were pregnant at the time of the study were included. Other participants included teenage mothers who had at least two (2) children. A face-to-face in-depth interview with the help of an interview guide was conducted. Proceedings were recorded, transcribed, and analysed using thematic analysis. Quotations were used in the result presentation. RESULTS: The results of the study revealed that factors influencing recurrent teenage pregnancies are multifactorial. It includes peer pressure, parental neglect, poverty, living with a partner, and inadequate knowledge of family planning. The teenager with recurrent pregnancy is confronted with financial difficulties and is faced with stigmatisation in the society where she finds herself. CONCLUSION: To this effect, it is important to intensify education on family planning and good parental practices among parents with teenage mothers while providing a similar form of sensitization for members of the society about the harmful effects of stigmatisation on the teenage mother and her children. Again, a social support network for teenagers with recurrent pregnancies could be formed to help curb this public health menace.

Life after teenage childbearing: A long-term view on teenage mothers' wellbeing.

BACKGROUND: This study aims to address the lack of information about the long-term wellbeing of (former) teenage mothers in the Netherlands. It provides data which policymakers can use to ensure that support programmesmeet the needs of teenage mothers. METHODS: Women who had given birth before the age of twenty were recruited online by Fiom, expertise centre on unintended pregnancy (December 2018-February 2019; N = 248). Survey data were obtained to assess how they perceived their wellbeing, employment, education, housing, and social support. Respondents were divided into three groups: 0-3 years after teenage childbearing (short term), 4-12 years (medium term), >12 years (long term). Results were analysed using univariate and bivariate descriptions in SPSS. RESULTS: Almost 80% of respondents reported that they were doing well and were satisfied with their lives, 63% had a job, and 17% were students. Short-term mothers worked fewer hours per week, received more benefits, and were less satisfied with their living conditions compared to medium- and long-term mothers. 36% Of the respondents smoked cigarettes. Most support was given by family (83%), mainly by female relatives. About 24% received formal support from social workers or institutions. CONCLUSIONS: Respondents, on average, reported they were doing well and were satisfied with their lives, in both the short and long term. These results suggest that as the years pass, teenage mothers overcome difficulties. Regarding income and housing, however, short-term mothers were in a less favourable position. Tailored interventions are recommended to address smoking among (former) teenage mothers.

Qualitative exploration of perceived barriers of exclusive breastfeeding among pregnant teenagers in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana.

BACKGROUND: The World Health Organization endorses exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of every child's life since exclusive breastfeeding has the potential of saving thousands of infants' lives. The global exclusive breastfeeding rate among mothers is sub-optimal. This predisposes infants born to teenage mothers to all types of ailments. Therefore, this study explored the factors that inhibit the practice of exclusive breastfeeding as perceived by pregnant teenagers in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana which is an urban area. METHODS: The study used techniques in qualitative descriptive exploration to collect data from 30 pregnant teenagers through focus group discussions. Six focus group discussions were conducted and each group was made up of five participants. Informed consent was obtained from participants who were 18 years and above as well as parents of participants below 18 years while informed assent was obtained from participants below 18 years after purposive sampling. Interviews were audiotaped, transcribed and data were analysed through content analysis. RESULTS: Two major themes and eight sub themes emerged from the data after analysis. Personal related barriers (negative emotional feelings, irrational thinking, perceived health risks to the baby and perceived self-inefficacy) and social related barriers (provider-client interaction, disapproval of exclusive breastfeeding by close relatives, unfriendly workplace policies and social myths) were the perceived factors that discouraged exclusive breastfeeding among teenage mothers. CONCLUSION: Health professionals should be trained to provide culturally sensitive care to teenage mothers in order to promote exclusive breastfeeding. The media, religious leaders and politicians should help debunk misconceptions about breastfeeding expressed by participants in the study.

Teachers' perspectives on the implementation of teenage mothers' school re-entry policy in Eswatini Kingdom: Implication for educational evaluators.

INTRODUCTION: In the global context, there have been high records of teenage girls drop out in schools than teenage boys. This ugly occurrence is attributed to teenage pregnancy and little or no concerns have been given to the school re-entry policy for such category of students especially in the Eswatini Kingdom, Swaziland. Thus, this study explored the perceptions of teachers regarding the implementation of the teenage mothers' school re-entry policy in the Manzini region of Eswatini. METHOD: A qualitative research approach was adopted for the study using a sample of 15 participants. Data collection instrument a semistructured interview guide. Qualitative data were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: The findings indicated a lack of awareness and understanding of both the policy and its guidelines among participants. The results further showed that the implementation of the re-entry policy is crucial if a teenage pregnant girl child's education is to be realized in Eswatini. CONCLUSION: Without proper implementation of such a policy, the affected girls could end up, uneducated and poor. Thus, educational evaluators should come up with appropriate policy documents for girl child.

Childcare practices among teenage mothers in Ghana: a qualitative study using the ecological systems theory.

BACKGROUND: While appropriate care for children is essential for optimal growth and protection against child morbidity and mortality, teenage mothers have been shown to deviate from the recommended childcare practices. This study explored the childcare practices among teenage mothers in Ghana using Ecological Systems Theory by Bronfenbrenner as a theoretical framework. METHODS: Employing qualitative approach to inquiry, evidence was drawn from 30 teenage mothers using in-depth interviews. The data were analysed and presented following systematic qualitative-oriented text analysis strategy with verbatim quotes from study participants to support the emergent themes. RESULTS: It was evident that teenage mothers have limited skills in childcare practices and often resorted to practices with potentially adverse health outcomes for their children. They, for instance, applied hot towels they had heated with hot stones to the children's umbilical stump. We found that teenage mothers were not in sync with their macro- and exo-systems, thereby depriving themselves and their babies of the much-needed guidance and support in caring for their babies. Teenage mothers were often confused and sometimes clueless about best childcare practices at a given point in time. CONCLUSIONS: Childcare practices by teenage mothers are far from the ideal. To improve on child health (especially children born to teenage mothers), efforts at both the macro- and exo-systems should be directed at exposing teenage mothers to best child care practices that inure to the benefits of their children. Ante- and postnatal visits should be used to provide specific education for mothers, especially first-time teenage mothers on the care needs of babies and how to provide these needs.

Adolescent childbirth, miscarriage, and abortion: associations with changes in alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use.

BACKGROUND: Adolescent girls who become pregnant demonstrate greater risk for substance use than same-aged peers. However, it remains unclear how risk relates to normative changes in adolescence. Few studies have examined adolescent substance use changes before, during, and after pregnancy and considered how pregnancy outcomes (childbirth, miscarriage, abortion) differentially influence substance use changes. The present study examined associations between different adolescent pregnancy outcomes and within-person changes in substance use from prepregnancy to postpregnancy. METHODS: Participants included 2,450 girls (52% Black) oversampled from low-income urban neighborhoods in Pittsburgh, PA. Participants self-reported pregnancy outcomes and substance use frequency (alcohol, cigarette, marijuana) annually from ages 11-20. Fixed effects regressions focused on first births, first miscarriages, and first abortions occurring from ages 12-19 to test the associations between pregnancy outcomes and within-individual changes in substance use from prepregnancy to postpregnancy. By design, models controlled for all potential time-stable confounds, and models included age and subsequent pregnancies as time-varying covariates. RESULTS: Consistent with prior studies, girls who became pregnant (20%) reported greater early risk for substance use problems than never-pregnant adolescents, including earlier age of onset and more regular marijuana and cigarette use. Childbirth predicted a 26%-51% within-individual reduction in alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use that remained significantly lower than prepregnancy levels after childbirth. Alcohol and marijuana use decreased (32%-47%) after miscarriage. Abortion was not associated with long-term changes in substance use; however, marijuana and cigarette use gradually increased (44%-46%) in the years leading up to the year of and after abortion, respectively, before returning to prepregnancy levels. CONCLUSIONS: Findings highlight important differences in adolescent substance use patterns based on pregnancy outcome. For pregnant adolescents with heightened pre-existing risk for substance use, pregnancy may be a window of opportunity for substance use screening and behavioral intervention.

[The impact of adolecent motherhood on child development in preschool children- identification of maternal risk factors]. / Auswirkungen adoleszenter Mutterschaft auf die kindliche Entwicklung im Vorschulalter ­ Identifikation mütterlicher Risikofaktoren.

The impact of adolecent motherhood on child development in preschool children- identification of maternal risk factors Abstract. Objective: This longitudinal study aims to identify relevant risk factors in adolescent mothers which might impact their child's cognitive and speech development as well as behavior problems at preschool age. Based on earlier findings, maternal sensitivity (EA), socioeconomic status (SES) and psychological stress were identified as potentially influencing factors. Method: N = 31 adolescent and N = 47 adult mothers with their children aged 3;0 to 5;9 (M = 3;55) participated in this study. Child variables included cognitive development (WPPSI-III), language development (SSV), and behavioral problems (SDQ). Maternal factors were EA, SES, and mental health problems (BSI-18). Results: Children of adolescent mothers performed worse on cognitive and speech development and are described by their mothers as exhibiting more behavioral problems compared to children of adult mothers. Mediation analyses revealed that the effect of maternal age on children's cognitive development is occurs through reduced maternal sensitivity of adolescent mothers. Further, higher psychological stress of adolescent mothers mediated the effect of maternal age on children's behavior problems. Conclusion: Preschool children of adolescent mothers showed poorer developmental outcomes compared to children of adult mothers. This is partly explained by lower maternal sensitivity and higher rates of psychological stress among adolescent mothers.

Teenage mothers of black and minority ethnic origin want access to a range of mental and physical health support: a participatory research approach.

BACKGROUND: In high risk, economically disadvantaged neighbourhoods, such as those primarily resident by black and minority ethnic groups (BME), teenage pregnancies are relatively more frequent. Such families often have limited access to and/or knowledge of services, including prenatal and post-partum physical and mental health support. OBJECTIVE: To explore preferences held by vulnerable young mothers of BME origin and those close to them about existing and desired perinatal health services. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Drawing on a community-based participatory approach, a community steering committee with local knowledge and experience of teenage parenthood shaped and managed an exploratory qualitative study. In collaboration with a local agency and academic research staff, community research assistants conducted two focus groups with 19 members and 21 individual semi-structured interviews with young mothers of BME origin and their friends or relatives. These were coded, thematically analysed, interpreted and subsequently triangulated through facilitator and participant review and discussion. RESULTS: Despite perceptions of a prevalent local culture of mistrust and suspicion, a number of themes and accompanying recommendations emerged. These included a lack of awareness by mothers of BME origin about current perinatal health services, as well as programme inaccessibility and inadequacy. There was a desire to engage with a continuum of comprehensive and well-publicized, family-focused perinatal health services. Participants wanted inclusion of maternal mental health and parenting support that addressed the whole family. CONCLUSIONS: It is both ethical and equitable that comprehensive perinatal services are planned and developed following consultation and participation of knowledgeable community members including young mothers of BME origin, family and friends.

Explore the lived childbirth experiences, challenges following childbirth, and coping strategies of teenage mothers: A qualitative meta-synthesis.

PROBLEM: Worldwide, 16 million girls give birth during adolescence each year, which has negative health, social, and economic consequences for adolescent women's future. BACKGROUND: Childbirths occurring between the ages of 13-19, before teenage girls have reached the age of maturity to handle the parenting role, are often unplanned. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to gain a comprehensive understanding of lived childbirth experiences, identify the challenges of early motherhood, and explore the coping strategies employed by teenage mothers to overcome these challenges during the transition to motherhood. METHODS: Six commonly cited databases were used to retrieve articles using the SPIDER framework. We utilized the Walsh and Downe quality appraisal tool, which is considered the most appropriate fit for the current qualitative meta-synthesis. The thematic analysis approach was used to draw conclusions and generate hypotheses. RESULTS: This meta-synthesis showed that teenage mothers often encounter negative reactions from their partners, families, and communities due to their early childbirth. They face numerous challenges, including parenting incompetency, school dropout, conflict between adolescent interests and maternal responsibilities, emotional disturbance, and financial problems. Social support and self-efficacy are the main coping strategies to navigate these challenges and attain maternal competencies. CONCLUSION AND IMPLICATIONS: Families, peers, and midwives play a crucial role in providing parenting lessons for teenage mothers. Encouraging teenage mothers to believe in their capacities is an important coping strategy to facilitate a smoother motherhood transition. Further studies are needed to test the effectiveness of self-efficacy and social support interventions on teenage mothers' parenthood role attainment and in preventing mental health problems following childbirth.

Effects of teenage pregnancies on the health, nutrition, and development of first-born children: A community-based comparative study in a rural district at Bhopal.

Background: The global problem of teenage pregnancy affects health of the young mother as well as health of the baby to be born. Being both a medical and public health problem, teenage mothers as well as their children are considered as high-risk groups. Current research work is a community-based comparative study to understand the consequences of teenage pregnancy on the health, nutrition, and developmental milestones of the first-born children. Methods: Three parameters, namely, fetal outcome, birth weight of the baby, and child's milestones of development, were chosen to analyze the effects of teenage pregnancy on the first-born child. Mothers in a rural district at Bhopal were interviewed and then classified into two groups based on their age - teenage and non-teenage mothers. Results: The child of teenage mothers had 16% less chances of having birth weight >2.5 kg in comparison to the child of non-teenage mothers. A significant statistical difference in the fetal outcome (teenage mothers vs non-teenage mothers) was observed with a P value of 0.0008. Live births were 80.77% (63) in teenage mothers against 97.44% (76) in non-teenage mothers, whereas a low birth weight (LBW) of <1.5 kg was 5.35 times more in the teenage group. Conclusion: First-born children of non-teenage mothers were found to be healthier compared to those of the teenage mothers; teenage pregnancy has adverse effects on the health, nutrition, and development of the first-born children and may lead to problems such as still births, LBW, and pre-mature child birth.

The Socioemotional Outcomes of Young Children of Teenage Mothers by Paternal Coresidence.

To date, no study has examined the implications of biological fathers' coresidence for the socioemotional development of children of teenage mothers. Previous research suggests competing hypotheses. Men who father children with teenage women have low education and earnings and are disproportionately likely to be antisocial. However, teenage mothers are less distressed when fathers are more involved caregivers. The current study follows a multi-city sample of children born to teenage women (n = 509) for their first three years of life in the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study. Children whose biological father coresided continuously (20%) were more likely to be securely attached to their mother and had fewer externalizing problems than other children at age 3. Paternal coresidence did not increase household income, and it only marginally lowered maternal parenting stress.

[Adolescent parenting ­ developmental risks for the mother-child dyad]. / Adoleszente mutterschaft. Entwicklungsrisiken für dieMutter-Kind-Dyade.

Adolescent mothers and their children are exposed to multiple psychosocial risk factors and represent a high-risk group for adverse developmental outcomes. It is not the mother's young age alone which contributes to the developmental risk of the mother-child dyad. Rather, both the combination of risks, such as poverty, domestic violence, dysfunctional family relationships, or a psychiatric disorder, all of which predispose to adolescent pregnancy, as well as the strains of parenthood during the mother's own developmental stage add to the psychosocial risks of children of teenage mothers. Early motherhood can lead to lower levels of education and a lower socioeconomic status. In addition, there is a higher risk for psychopathology in both the teenage mother and her child. This article provides an overview of the current research findings regarding adolescent parenting and its associated risks. Risk factors leading to early motherhood are reviewed and associated with differences in parenting behaviors and the developmental outcomes of their children. This article will conclude with a short overview on intervention programs for adolescent mothers and their children. Further research is needed to develop age-appropriate support programs for adolescent mothers and their children to cope with the complexity of risks and improve their developmental trajectories.

Teenage childbirth and young adult criminal convictions: A quasi-experimental study of criminal outcomes for teenage mothers.

PURPOSE: Teenage childbirth is associated with poor psychosocial outcomes for teen mothers. One example is that teen mothers have higher rates of antisocial behavior. The extant research has not been able to determine if teenage motherhood is independently associated with criminal behavior, or if the association is due to selection factors associated with both teenage childbirth and criminal behavior. METHODS: We used longitudinal data from Swedish national registers and sibling-comparisons (both full- and half-siblings) to identify the extent to which there is an independent association between teenage childbirth and mothers' likelihood of criminal conviction between ages 20-30, or if the association is confounded by familial (including genetic or environmental) factors that make sisters similar. RESULTS: Women who began childbearing as teenagers were more likely to be convicted of a crime in young adulthood compared to women who delayed childbearing. When sisters were compared, the association between teenage childbirth and criminal convictions disappeared. Multivariate behavior genetic analyses suggest genetic and shared environmental account for the association. CONCLUSIONS: The statistical association between teenage childbirth and early adulthood criminal convictions is confounded by genetic and shared environmental factors that influence both the likelihood of teenage childbirth and risk of early adulthood criminal conviction.

An Integrative Review of the Research on Teen Mothers' Resilience.

Greater attention to teen mothers' strengths and aspirations has generated interest in their resilience. An integrative review of the research was undertaken to determine how teen mothers' resilience, risks, and protective factors are conceptualized across methodological approaches. In total, 10 databases were searched in 2021 to identify relevant studies. Of the 32 studies meeting criteria, the majority were conducted in the United States. Qualitative studies mined teen mothers' accounts for resilient processes, adversities, and protective factors while quantitative studies operationalized variables based on the resilience framework. The studies in this review present a more balanced and contextual perspective on teen mothers and suggest broader notions of their competence, success, and vulnerabilities. Several studies draw attention to the potential costs of resilience and the heterogeneity of teen mothers. Unfortunately, this research shows little cross-fertilization across methods. Implications of the findings for future research, policy, and practice are described.

African American Adolescent Mothers' Childbirth Support From Fathers, Grandmothers, Nurses, Doctors, and Doulas.

The morning after giving birth in a large urban hospital, 121 African American adolescents participating in a community doula program identified the people who had been with them during labor and birth and narrated their birth stories. Besides medical providers, the people most likely to be present for the birth were the infants' fathers (n = 73, 60%), the mothers' mothers (n = 70, 58%), and their doulas (n = 100, 83%). Birth stories were coded to identify types of support provided by different people. Mothers' mothers, infants' fathers, and doulas were more likely to be mentioned in the stories as providers of emotional and instrumental support than were medical providers. Doulas were more likely to be mentioned as providers of information than were family members or medical providers.

An Umbrella Review of Qualitative Research on Teen Mothering.

The sheer volume of qualitative research on teen mothering over three decades has generated numerous scientific reviews. This umbrella review synthesizes the findings of these reviews and describes the utility of this evidence for improving clinical practice and policy. A comprehensive search of six electronic databases performed through October 2019 yielded 17 articles from 15 independent reviews. Data were extracted and key findings were synthesized to yield the following paradox: mothering has the potential for transforming and redirecting teens' lives in positive ways because of, and despite, difficult childhoods, constricted pathways to adulthood, fragile partner relationships, social inequities, and stigma. By bringing visibility to the paradox that teen mothering simultaneously transforms and imperils, this review extends the science on teen mothering and enhances the generalizability and utility of small-scale qualitative studies for reframing practice, policy, and behavioral interventions.

Teenage Mothers in Yaoundé, Cameroon-Risk Factors and Prevalence of Perinatal Depression Symptoms.

BACKGROUND: Perinatal depression is defined as a non-psychotic depressive episode occurring during pregnancy or during the first year following childbirth. This depressive disorder is highly prevalent among teenage women but there is a lack of data in low- and middle-income countries. The objective of this study was to provide baseline data on the sociodemographic characteristics of pregnant teenagers or teenage mothers in an urban zone in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Risk factors were assessed, and prevalence of depressive disorders was determined. METHODS: Women aged 20 years old or less in the perinatal period were invited to participate in the study. A total of 1344 women participated in the four-stage data collection process involving a questionnaire including questions on sociodemographic background, an assessment of their risk of perinatal depression using the EPDS questionnaire (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), a clinical interview based on the DSM 5 (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders), and a final section focusing on risk factors of perinatal depression. RESULTS: The EPDS score was obtained for 1307 women. The prevalence of depressive disorder symptoms among teenage or young pregnant women is estimated to be 70.0%. This risk is significantly increased by different factors including unintended or unplanned pregnancy (aOR: 1.33, 1.14-1.56 CI95%), being separated or single (aOR: 1.34, 1.12-1.60 CI95%), experiencing depression and anxiety before childbirth (aOR: 1.50, 1.02-2.27 CI95%), abortion experience (aOR: 2.60, 1.03-7.14 CI95%) and domestic violence (aOR: 1.76, 1.12-2.83 CI95%). CONCLUSION: The results of this study reveal a high prevalence of depressive disorder symptoms within the study population. These findings highlight the need to develop maternal care programs to support both mothers and their infants.

Pregnancy complications, substance abuse, and prenatal care predict birthweight in adolescent mothers.

BACKGROUND: Reduced birthweight is associated with adverse physical and mental health outcomes later in life. Children of adolescent mothers are at higher risk for reduced birthweight. The current study aimed to identify the key risk factors affecting birthweight in a well-characterized sample of adolescent mothers to inform preventive public health efforts. METHODS: Sixty-four adolescent mothers (≤ 21 years of age) provided detailed data on pregnancy, birth and psychosocial risk. Separate regression analyses with (1) birthweight and (2) low birthweight (LBW) as outcomes, and pregnancy complications, prenatal care, maternal age, substance abuse during pregnancy, socioeconomic risk, stressful life events and the child's sex as independent variables were conducted. Exploratively, a receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis was performed to investigate the quality of the discriminatory power of the risk factors. RESULTS: The following variables explained variance in birthweight significantly: prenatal care attendance (p = .006), pregnancy complications (p = .006), and maternal substance abuse during pregnancy (p = .044). Prenatal care attendance (p = .023) and complications during pregnancy (p = .027) were identified as significant contributors to LBW. Substance abuse (p = .013), pregnancy complications (p = .022), and prenatal care attendance (p = .044) showed reasonable accuracy in predicting low birthweight in the ROC analysis. CONCLUSIONS: Among high-risk adolescent mothers, both biological factors, such as pregnancy complications, and behavioural factors amenable to intervention, such as substance abuse and insufficient prenatal care, seem to contribute to reduced birthweight in their children, a predisposing factor for poorer health outcomes later in life. More tailored intervention programmes targeting the specific needs of this high-risk group are needed.