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Other Girls: a qualitative exploration of teenage mothers views on teen pregnancy in contemporaries

Jones, Catriona; Whitfield, Clare; Seymour, Julie; Hayter, Mark

Authors

Catriona Jones

Julie Seymour

Mark Hayter



Abstract

Perspectives that consider teenage mothers as a ‘social problem’ are well described in the literature. However, the attitudes towards teenage mothers held by other teenage mothers are not well understood. Given the growing use of peer support in the reproductive health of teenagers, the attitudes of teenage mothers towards their contemporaries is worthy of exploration. We aimed to examine the discourse around teenage pregnancy in teenage mothers who have recently experienced teenage pregnancy and motherhood for themselves. Fourty mothers aged 16 -19, who had recently given birth and used a homebased sexual health service took part in semi structured interviews to explore their views on pregnancy in other teenagers. The analytical framework of ‘othering’ and resistance are used to examine their discourse around teenage pregnancy in teenage mothers. Findings indicate that teenage pregnancy and parenting in teenage mother contemporaries is not always viewed positively. Some teenage mothers in this study used strategies to distance themselves from perceived negativity. Two overarching themes emerged from the data: Constructions of moral judgement and Maintenance of positive self-representations. The negative portrayal of teenage pregnancy within wider society impacts the ongoing stigma attached to teenage pregnancy within the teenage population. Approaches such as peer education and peer support used in reproductive health should not be considered neutral, taken for granted processes, but may be complex and more nuanced. Health and social care professionals supporting young parents should be aware of the potential for stigma, discrimination, isolation and exclusion within teenage peer groups. Policy makers need to ensure young mothers have access to a broad range of support opportunities and this should include formal, professional support.

Citation

Jones, C., Whitfield, C., Seymour, J., & Hayter, M. (2019). Other Girls: a qualitative exploration of teenage mothers views on teen pregnancy in contemporaries. Sexuality and Culture, 23(3), 760–773. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09589-4

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jan 15, 2019
Online Publication Date Feb 13, 2019
Publication Date 2019-09
Deposit Date Feb 14, 2019
Publicly Available Date Feb 19, 2019
Print ISSN 1095-5143
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 23
Issue 3
Pages 760–773
DOI https://doi.org/10.1007/s12119-019-09589-4
Keywords Teenage pregnancy; Stigmatisation; Peers; Sexual health; Young mothers
Public URL https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/1300644
Publisher URL https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s12119-019-09589-4
Contract Date Feb 18, 2019

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Copyright Statement
© The Author(s) 2019
Open Access
This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made.






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