A CASE STUDY OF

THE LIVED EXPERIENCES OF A YOUNG MOTHER

IN LIMITED BARANGAYS IN DASMARIÑAS

Manicdao, Francisco S.

Garote. Marriel Sofhia C.

Conde, Yvonne Celine P.

Maenami, Yui C.

Quematon, Christine C.

Dela Cruz, Joshua T.

Mella, Karl Archival L.

Valdez, Charles Amiel V.

Practical Research I

Ms. Arianne Divina Yamasaki

Francisco E Barzaga Naitional High School

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 TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT............................................................................................................................ 3

INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................4

METHOD.................................................................................................................................6

SAMPLING.............................................................................................................................8

DATA GATHERING...............................................................................................................9

DATA ANALYSIS.................................................................................................................10

RESULTS..............................................................................................................................11

DISCUSSION .......................................................................................................................18

REFERENCES......................................................................................................................22

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ABSTRACT

This study with a title of A Case Study of the Lived Experiences of Young Mother in

Limited Barangays in Dasmariñas focuses on the life of a teen age mother between 10-19

years of young as defined by National Statistics Office for adolescent. It clearly addressed

the effects of the incident toward the participant, in which the young mother along the way of

baring the child in her womb until in the present time. The present study employ qualitative

research design specifically Case study (CS) method. In addition, thematic analysis include

in taking data analysis. Explanatory research design was utilized for the participants of the

study. Five superordinate themes are clustered and classified to represent the effects of the

lived experiences as for five interviewee which experience early pregnancy. These five

themes titles are: Different Reactions towards the Situation of unexpected Pregnancy of the

Young Mother (1), The Benefits from the Situation as for the Participant (2), Perspective of

the Participant after the Pregnancy (3), Significant Changes regarding on the Surroundings

of the Participant (4), and lastly, the Aftermath from the Plans and Dreams of the Teenage

Mother (5).

Keywords: Young Mother, Reactions, effects of the incident, Dasmarineños

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INTRODUCTION

In present era, women are more vulnerable to many types of challenges one of these

main difficulties that some adolescent women are prone is being a mother at young age.

According to recent study by Philippine Statistics Authority, 1 in 10 Filipino women between

the ages of 15 and 19 is already a mother or pregnant with her first child. Every day,

approximately 830 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and child birth

by World Health Organization. Moreover, young adolescents face a higher risk of

complications and death as a result of pregnancy than other women.

Ugochi, Daniels (2012) Stated that Philippines rise 70% teenage pregnancy over 10

years. United Nations Fund for Population Activities (UNFPA) said that age exposing as it

does adolescent girls (10-19) to high risk.

According to Pogoy et al. (2014) teenage mothers have less possibility to finish their

studies after engaging in early pregnancy. Taking care of the baby and providing financial

assistance are challenges they encountered and tried to cope up with. The academic

performance, the financial support of the family of teenage mothers determines if they can

pursue their studies and achieve their dreams in life.

In addition, "Raising a child is not an easy thing to do for being a parent comes with

responsibilities. These responsibilities include providing a safe, stable home for their child,

disciplining their child, providing education for their children, etc." (Sutton, 2015). Raising a

child at a young age is much harder. According to the Urban Child Institute, adolescents

who become parents often have shortage of life skills and other resources that are vital to

the parenting process.

"Men and women who become parents in their teenage years face significant life

development barriers. Young mothers and fathers are more likely to come from

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economically disadvantaged families and have lower educational attainment than the other

parents." (Kiernan,1997). Studies in early childhood developments find that adolescent

mothers (19 years of age and younger) are less likely than the older mothers to engage in

emotionally supportive and responsive parenting. In the Journal of Health and Social

Behaviour, a study on teenager parenting was conducted and analysis showed that teenage

mothers had higher levels of depression than other teenagers or adult mothers. "Also

common barriers face by many younger mothers includes problems with literacy, lack of

general knowledge and coping skills, lastly inadequate family support." (Loxton, Williams,

and Adams, 2007).

"Separation among young married and cohabiting couples is high and the children of

younger parents are more likely to grow up in a poor and mother only family, and experience

high risk of both their health status and school achievements." (McCulloch, 2001). "Public

and Professional concern over the consequences of early parenthood has led to the

development of services which attempt to offer social support and education to young

parents in order to reduce repeat early pregnancy, and to offset potential impairment of

children development." (Logsdon, 2004; Spencer, 2001). "However, few special initiatives

have repeated success in reducing the rate of young parenting and existing support services

have not successfully recruited younger parents to their program." (Donahoo, 2006; Nitz,

2007).

The researchers chose the topic “ Life of a Young Mother” to spread awareness to

the youth to what consequences they may take if they engage to irresponsible premarital

intercourse and also to at least give hope or inspiration to those who are already in a

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situation of being a young mother. This study will focus on a small scope of young mothers

being interviewed relevant questions that would be enough to collect sufficient data in order

to formulate a generalized conclusion.

This research sought to determine why this matter happens perhaps many victims of

early motherhood overcome this part of their lives. This study will also include the cause and

effects, difficulties, and coping mechanism of a teenage mother among several people lives

in Dasmariñas City.

METHOD

Qualitative research is used in this study where a lot of in-depth information from

people are taken and a quality look at a phenomenon more than numerical data. William

M.K. (2006) defines “qualitative approach” as a general way of thinking about conducting

qualitative research. It describes, either explicitly or implicitly, the purpose of the qualitative

research, the role of the researcher(s), the stages of research, and the method of data

analysis. In addition, qualitative researchers stress the socially constructed nature of reality,

the intimate relationship between the researcher and what is studied, and the situational

constraints that shape inquiry, (Norman, Denzin, Lincolin, 2000). Also, in the handbook of

qualitative research by Denzin and Lincoln (2005) describe qualitative research as involving

“… an interpretive naturalistic approach to the world. That means qualitative

researchers study things in their natural settings, attempting to make sense of or interpret

phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them.” Thus, this study applies a face

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to face situation between the researcher and the participant in conducting an interview and

thematic analysis was employ in analysing the data.

Specifically, Case Study (CS) is utilized as one form of qualitative research where an

empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon within its real-life context;

when the boundaries between phenomenon and context are not clearly evident; and in

which multiple sources of evidence is used.” (Yin,1984). On the other hand, H. Odum

explains that “Case study method is a technique by which individual factor whether it is an

institution or just an episode in the life of an individual or a group is analyzed in its

relationship to any other in the group.” However, case study is a present description of

research that evaluates events, situations, conditions. Exploratory, explanatory, descriptive,

and evaluative case study designs are the types in applying case study.

Yin (1994) and Winston (1997) distinguish the purpose of exploratory design as to

elaborate a concept and construct propositions. Where field work and data collection are

bring off before finding the research questions.

Differentiate to explanatory, patterns is implied that one type of variation observed in

a case study is systematically related to another variation. Yin and Moore (1989) suggest

the use of pattern-matching technique in such a research wherein several pieces of

information from the same case may be related to some theoretical proposition.

While descriptive design presents descriptive theory that established the overall

framework for the researcher to follow throughout the study. Formulation and identification is

required for theoretical framework before making research questions.

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 Lastly, evaluative type of case study is conducted to create judgements. It includes

deep account of a phenomenon being evaluated and identified of most significant

constructs, themes, and patterns as explained also by Yin and Winston.

SAMPLING

“Sampling is a process of selecting units from a population of interest from which

they were chosen.” as explained by William M.K Trochim (2006), that utilizes some form of

random selection. Thus, the researcher(s) of this study must set of some process or

procedures that satisfy the different units of population. Some of this process is having a

“population” and “sampling frame”. Population is a complete set of elements (persons or

objects) that possess some common characteristic defined by the sampling criteria

established by the researcher and sampling frame is a list of all the items in a population. It’s

a complete list of everyone or everything in a study. The difference between a population

and a sampling frame is that the population is general and the frame is specific. After this

procedure researcher(s) should choose if the research to study is probability or non

probability sampling methods.

In presenting this study, researchers employ a non-probability type of sampling

method which is purposive. William M.K Trochim (2006) illustrates that “non-probability

sampling that does not involve a random selection but a selecting of people that is

considered to be more accurate and rigorous to a research”. It means that it is used when

there is not an exhaustive population list available and when it is not random. In addition,

researchers(s) used a non-probability sampling because it introduces a qualitative research.

There are particular people to include in the study. In probability sampling, everyone has a

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chance of being selected. Nevertheless, there is a theorization that there is an even

dissemination of component within the population. This is what makes the researcher

believe that any sample would be representative and because of that, results will be

specific. “For probability sampling, randomization is a feature of the selection process, rather

than an assumption about the structure of the population.” William M.K Trochim (2006).

In searching the aspect of human kind and behaviour, researcher(s) simply cannot

collect data from any single individual in different cases. Non probability sampling has its

corresponding techniques. Purposive sampling is the technique utilized because it simply

needs to achieve the set criteria makes by the researchers, where participant must need to

attain the following set judgements. The precedent sampling method is relevant to the study

because the respondents chosen by the researcher(s) have experienced regarding to the

study and will be able to answer the interrelated question asked by the researcher(s). The

participants are 5 teenage mothers from Dasmariñas in three different Barangay. The age

range of the Teenage Mothers is from ages 17 to 21. The youngest year of pregnancy was

about to last 4 years ago and the shortest is about 1 year ago.

DATA GATHERING

The researchers sought permission from the administration head of the Senior High

School of Francisco E. Barzaga National High School to conduct the study in the said

institution by submitting a formal letter and informed consent for the participants. The

researchers collected the data by conducting an in-depth interview with the teen moms

within the area. The semi-structured question were designed in an open- ended manner as

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the researchers implicitly directed the flow of the interview only for the purpose of avoiding

digressing too much from the topic; that is the participant’s lived experiences.

DATA ANALYSIS

This study employ thematic analysis to evaluate the in-depth transcript. According to

Braun and Clarke (2006, p.79), thematic analysis is a qualitative analytic method for:

‘identifying, analysing and reporting patterns (themes) within data. It minimally organises

and describes your data set in (rich) detail. However, frequently it goes further than this, and

interprets various aspects of the research topic.’ The present study followed the procedure

of Case Study

Themes are needed to be identified in the first case. This involves a detailed reading

and re-reading of the transcripts to allow salient themes to emerge. The second step of

analysis involved connecting themes. This stage aims to produce initial list of themes, a

clustering of the themes into super ordinate themes, and a table of super ordinate themes

and sub-themes. The analysis at this stage is checked with the data. Analysis f the cases is

the third step. Toward developing the final set of super ordinate themes, convergences and

divergences across cases are identified. The fourth and last stage is the writing up of the

narrative account where themes are explained and illustrated. To ensure the validity of the

analysis, the researchers engaged in a repetitive process of going back and forth from

analysis to text.

The method of analysis chosen for this study was a qualitative approach of thematic

analysis. Generally, thematic analysis is the most widely used qualitative approach to

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analysing interviews. The conceptual framework of the thematic analysis for the interviews

was mainly built upon the theoretical positions of Braun and Clarke (2006). In addition, this

approach complemented the research questions by facilitating an investigation of the

interview data from two perspectives: first, from a data- driven perspective and a perspective

based on coding in an inductive way; second from the research question perspective to

check if the data were consistent with the research questions and providing sufficient

information.

RESULTS

In answering the research question “What are the effects from the incident?”, “What

challenges and difficulties regarding early pregnancy?”, and “How do young mothers cope in

this scenario?” the researchers applies the type of case study. Using one on one interviews

conducted with the five Dasmarineños who have experience early motherhood in the

present study, elicited statements not limited from single participant were used to illustrate

the nuances in the themes that were formed. In lieu of selecting only one participant’s

illustrative accounts to delineate each subordinate theme, the researchers chose to use the

illustrative accounts to different participants because some statements regarding their lived

experiences as teen moms are relatively more detailed and clearly articulated than that of

the others. In the present study, data analysis established three super ordinate themes

which demonstrate the lived experiences of the five Dasmarineños and their making sense

of such experiences.

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Table 1. Superordinate Themes and Subordinate Themes prior to the Effects of the Incident

to the Lived Experiences of a Young Mother.

SUPERORDINATE THEMES SUBORDINATE THEMES

 The fear of the participants from the

Different Reactions towards the Situation of admonishment of its parents

unexpected Pregnancy of the Young Mother  Admiring responds of the male

partner

The Benefits from the Situation as for the  Hostility of the young Mother after the

Participant pregnancy

 Practicality and decision making

Perspective of the Participant After the  Humility towards the parent of the

Pregnancy participant

Significant Changes regarding on the  Firm alteration of physical, emotional,

Surroundings of the Participant mental, and social.

 Inadequate forms or effects

 Education, the answer to success

Aftermath from the Plans and Dreams of the  Career job to sustain needs

Teenage Mother

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Reasons for the Effects of the Lived Experiences of a Young Mother.

Different Reactions towards the Situation of unexpected Pregnancy of the Young Mother

The parent role in the participant somewhat upset and disgrace about the

incident, perhaps in the long preparation of giving birth, parents learn how to accept

this scenario and supports the baring child of their daughters. Likewise the case of

Alanis (not her true name) as she tells her situation in informing her parents about the

child she was racing in her womb.

“Kinabahan ako kasi umaasa pa siya (nanay) na makapagtatapos ako. Natakot ako

magsalita sa mama ko kasi binantaan nya ako dati (bago pa magdalang tao) na papalayasin

n’ya ako kapag ako nabuntins ng maaga kaya tinago ko muna. Galing pa si mama sa

trabaho di ko naman kase talaga balak di ko nalang kase kayang itago. Massage therapist

sya hiwalay din yung mama at papa ko. Nagulat sya pero hindi naman nanakit tinanong ako

sabi ko 6 months na tapos tinanong kung anong balak ko. Sabi ko ipapalaglag ko.... ayaw

naman nila, tanggap nya, kase apo nya tapos nagtanong tanong ulit sabi ko ayoko (ayoko

magbuntis). Pero sabi nila hindi. Magaaral ka, kahit nagbubuntis ka, apo ko yan. Kung

maging lalake man yan o babae tatanggapin ko yan, pero mas maganda kung lalake. Kase

walang kameng lalake o apong lalake.- Alanis

On other hand, the female corresponding partner has a big effect toward the

participant from its reaction. Many of the early fatherhood cases states that the male

partner is always accused as guilty for this incidents. In contradiction, some of the

participant’s partner has a positive outcome in treating them as their wife. Due to

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pregnancy, female young mothers are inevitable to harm or avoid threats concerning

to her opposite sex.

“Nung simulang inamin ko sa kanya (Kinakasama) na buntis nga, hindi n’ya na ako

pinagbuhatan ng kamay. Dati-rati kasi nagbabangayan kami kahit na hugasin lang sa

pinggan. Kasi nga isip bata pa ako noon (10 taon ang pagitan niya at ng kinakasamang

lalaki) kaya di kami nagkakasundo. Naniniwala ako na nung damting yung panganay namin

bumait sya sa akin. Kasi nga nalaman nya na may anak na siya eh matanda na sya nuon

kaya gustong-gusto niya. ... wala naman ako alam sa pagbubuntis nuon kasi 18 lang ako at

‘di na nag-aaral” –Ate Che

The Benefits from the Situation as for the Participant

One of the good benefits is having the hostility manner regarding the

participant when it faced the life situations by itself. She has earning the guts and

being brave in taking different problems because she believe that along her way there

is a sympathy from her baring child. In addition, the young mothers are easily

exposed from early responsibility that makes them more critical thinkers in way of

decision making.

"Lumalakas ung loob ko. Katulad pag nag-aaway kami ng asawa ko. Di bale ng

maghiwalay kami basta panatag ang loob ko na maayos ang kalagayan ng babby ko. Kase

ditto lang ako nakakakuha ng lakas ng loob.Panatag kase yung loob ko kapag nasa akin

yung bata” - Joana

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 “Madami nadulot sakin, isa duon ay ang pagiging praktikal ko sa mga bilihin. Dati

(nuong dalaga pa ito) kasi bumibili ako ng hindi tinitignan ang mga advantages at

disadvantages ng mga gamit lalo na sa pagkain. ... ngayon naniniguro ako at may bata

(patungkol sa mga materyales at pagakin na binibili). –ate Che

Perspective of the Participant After the Pregnancy

Many cases of unwanted pregnancy point of out the lack of parenting among

its child. As for results the views of most participant regarding to their parents is the

cause of their present situation. With this in mind, wrong perspective occurs. But on

contrary after having their own child participants realize their wrong thoughts same

like Che’s situation.

“ano kasi yung bagong pananaw ko,...yung sa nanay ko kasi dati di’ ko s’ya

kinakausap, di’ ko sya iniintindi pag nadyan (nagtatalo). Parang naisip-isip ko nanay na ko.

Pano kaya kung anito rin gawin sakin ng anak ko. Kaya napag-isip-isip ko na ako na lang

ang magpapakumbaba sa nanay ko. Kaya yun nagkaayos kami ng nanay ko nung dumating

siya (anak). Parang naunawaan ko na ganito pala pag may anak na. Kailangan pala na ang

anak ang makipag ano (pagpapakumbaba) sa ina

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Significant Changes regarding on the Surroundings of the Participant

The circumstance of being mother in an early age have different changes

occur between the before and after pregnancy. Often classified into four aspects

where physical, emotional, mental and social are include. Somehow in appearance

have to deal with biology, while emotional, mental, and social are been expressed in

human behaviour.

“Sa physical, date kase nung dalaga ako mataba ako pero ngayong nagka anak

nako pumayat ako. Pagdating naman sa emotional, ngayon nalabas kona lahat ng sama ng

loob ko date hindi. Pag nag iisip naman ako date kase pag sinabe lang disisyon ka kaagad

dimona iniisip ngayon pagiisipan mona. Sa social, nung una (dalaga) nakikihalubilo ako

pero ngayon nahihiya na ako dahil siguro.(kalagayan). Basta nung nagka anak nako

nahihiya nako.”- Myla

In contradiction, there are also inadequate forms of changes concerning the

emotions and social attributes. One of these affirmation states by ate Che.

“Nagkikimkim na ako ngayon kaysa dati kasi wala akong mapagsabihan ngayon

kundi sarili ko. Yan (pag-iisip) malaki ang pagbabago nung nilabas ko siya (anak). Kasi dati

wala pakong isip (isip bata) kase nga grade 6 lang tinapos ko saka ako sumama sa kanya

(kinakasama). Pero di’ ko naransan magdalaga. Nung naisip ko na dalawa na anak ko. Aba

nanay na nanay na ako. Nagmamatured na. Nung una kasi hindi talaga parang wala lang,

wala akong alam sa diaper, ngayon alam ko na. Ako pa nga nag-guide sa mga bagong

mommy. Ako na nagtuturo sa kanila. Kaya yung utak ko matured na. Sa pakikipag usap ko

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naman sa hipag ko ‘di na tulad dati na nakikisabay lang manood. (walang paguusap). Di ako

marung sa kwentu-kwentuhan. Ngayon ako na nagpapasimula ng mga uspan.

(nakikihalobilo).” - Ate Che

Aftermath from the Plans and Dreams of the Teenage Mother

Participants do believe that education is the answer for them to escape

poverty because lack of knowledge sought them to be nothing. They aspire more to

achieve their dreams even though some of these change. Furthermore, they not just

determine to continue their plans for themselves rather they include for the future of

their child. Granted, that after they graduate a more opportunity would open for them

specifically stable jobs that can sustain their everyday necessity.

“...someday magiging pulis ako. Ano kase yung pamilya ko laging na trotrouble gusto

ko silang protektahan pati sempre yung anak ko t’saka matagal ko ng pangarap iyon.

Humss ngayon ang track ko. Papahintuin ko si mama sa pagtratrabaho, para sya na

magmanage at mag-alaga sa anak ko.” –Alanis

“ ako gusto ko talaga makapagtapos ng pagaral.Gusto ko makapagtrabaho kasi

habang lumalaki nga siya syempre diba lumalaki din ung gastos mo tyaka yun nga gusto ko

maganda ung kinabukasan niya.”- Joana

“’di na, gusto ko sana mag aral kaso ayaw (kasalukuyang kinakasama) inaantay ko

nalang dito yung open high school, para makapag tapos ng pag aaral tapos mabigyan ko ng

maganda buhay ung mga anak ko” – Senya

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 “Plano ko talaga ay mag-aral para sa sarili ko. Pagka-graduate kung sakali,

magtatrabaho ako para sa kinabukasan ng mga anak ko. Kasi di mo masasabi nagkaka-

edad na mister ko. Kaya mahirap, kaya gusto ko meron akong matinong trabaho. Pangarap

ko din na makapagtapos sila ng pag-aaral (sa tatlong anak) tapos, sana matupad yung mga

pangarap na kung anong gustuhin nila. Babae yung panganay ko kaya nangangamba din

ako.” –Ate Che

DISCUSSION

The prominent finding of this study is to comprehend the Lived Experiences of a

Young Mother in Dasmariñas in terms of the aftermath, difficulties and coping ways of the

participant on the said circumstance. Back then, studies related to this have to deal with

numerical data or a semi type of quantitative research where number of cases of teenage

mother lived in a specific area are most concern rather than the experience of the teenage

mother. Howbeit, some researchers already present a qualitative likewise the present study,

withal, some point need to have clarity.

One of the main points in the effect of early parenting was feared because it was

against the prevalent moral principles with a negative effect on the concept of family in their

social group. Sexual intercourse which is seen as part of dating, however, as a "modern"

habit should be accompanied by birth control. Advice to avoid pregnancy was continuously

given because pregnancy was seen as an embarrassment to the family, representing a

concrete sign of disrespect to the family and social values. This reality made mothers resort

to prayers in an attempt to avoid pregnancy (Komura Hoga et.al, 2009).

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 With regard to the notice of the adolescent pregnancy, the initial reaction of

the majority of the mothers was one of surprise and discontent. The mothers related feelings

of shock, difficulty believing what had happened, deception and sadness. This was

especially true because of the fact that they had maintained an "open dialogue" with their

daughters, by means of providing guidance about preventing pregnancy. But, despite their

initial discontent, all interviewees cited the acceptance of supporting their daughter during

the pregnancy. This conduct was a favorable factor, along with the fact that the interviewees

also had lived experience of being a mother during their adolescence. This acceptance has

been shown to be fundamental for the adolescent to be able to overcome difficulties of

pregnancy, and the fact that although she is assuming the role of a mother, it is also

necessary to return to her life projects, such as studying and working, after the birth of the

baby. Such claims, generally, are well regarded and stimulated by relatives, especially by

the mother who can assist in the care of the child. Thus, the possibility exists for

guaranteeing a better future for the child and also permitting the adolescent to complete her

development and maturation. (Oliveira Fernandes et.al 2012).

In other aspects like the benefits of the early mother, “By asserting their strengths

and competencies as mothers and the advantages they hold over older mothers, younger

mothers create a positive identity for themselves. Central to this ‘good’ mother identity is “a

belief in one’s moral worth as a mother” (Graham & McDermott, 2005). This identity borrows

heavily from widespread cultural values relating to the primary responsibility of caring

mothers of ‘putting their children first’. In emphasising their maternal capabilities and

constructing and investing in the ‘good’ mother identity, younger mothers are able to create

an emotional dam which provides some protection from stigmatisation.

The Physical Changes During Pregnancy. The most common physical changes

during pregnancy are very difficult to hide from the outside world. As the fetus grows, so

19
does the abdomen of the mother. This growth is noted from the 4th month through the end

of the pregnancy for most women. The growth of the fetus in the abdomen creates physical

changes in the interior of the body as well. The Emotional Changes During Pregnancy.

While the hormonal changes in the body are often thought to be the cause of many

emotional changes, there is another reason why mom may feel a bit under the weather

during and after the pregnancy. Mood swings, whether it's described as moodiness,

irritability or crabbiness, pregnancy can bring a roller coaster of emotions. "Pregnancy is a

transition point in a woman's life and during any time of transition, a person's emotions can

be up and down," Kimmel (2015). She said that some women's emotions don't change that

much when they are expecting, but it's not unusual for women to have mood swings,

especially during the early and late stages of pregnancy. It's not entirely clear why these

mood changes occur, Kimmel said, because a number of different changes are happening

in a woman's body at any time, and they are all tied in to her emotions. “One key reason

may be a flood of hormones."Some women are sensitive to changes in estrogen, while

others are affected by increases in progesterone or rising levels of stress hormones,"

(Mariner, 2008).

Becoming a mother at a young age can disrupt women’s participation in education

and employment, however as Arai (2003) notes, these types of negative outcomes may

already be in place. In Arai’s study, young women reported not being fully engaged at

school and many were employed in low paid, casual jobs. Arai observes that for working

class women, becoming a mother is seen as a “rational and meaningful life option” (2003: p.

210). The reasons for this were varied and related to previous life experiences. Those

women who had experienced intense levels of early life adversity (for example, family

violence or experiences in the care system) expressed strong desires to have children,

coupled with a strong motivation to give them a better life than they had. For those working

20
class women who had experienced much less adversity, having a child represented an

“alternative vocation” in that most were in low paid work before becoming pregnant or at

school with no ambitions to continue studying.

“Younger mothers’ aspirations to return to education and work and be economically

independent have been documented in a few other qualitative studies” (Yardley, 2008;

Hanna 2001; Seamark & Lings, 2004). In one study, employment together with getting

married/having a partner and having more children was seen as an escape route out of

poverty. This theme is echoed in another study (Seamark & Lings, 2004) with participants

displaying optimistic and realistic attitudes: some younger mothers had decided that full-time

motherhood was critical until their children were older, whereas others had started to put

long-term career plans in place. These participants did not feel as though ‘their lives were

over’, only that plans for developing work opportunities had to be staged so that they could

enact their responsibilities as mothers.

“Becoming a mother is a transforming event and can act as a catalyst to reinvent

oneself and cease using drugs and alcohol and/or find secure accommodation if homeless”

(Hanna, 2001; King et al, 2009). A qualitative studies (Meadows-Oliver, 2006: p. 345)

highlighted how homeless young mothers constructed pregnancy and childbirth as

opportunities for “recreating self” and “seeking a better life”.

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Amanda de Oliveira Fernandes (2012) Adolescent pregnancy: perceptions of mothers

of young pregnant women
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g=en

Graham & McDermott (2005) Report for the Department of Families, Housing,
Community Services and Indigenous Affairs Institute of Child Protection Studies
Australian Catholic...
http://www.thesis.xlibx.info/th-other/4576614-3-report-for-the-department-families-
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Mariner (2008) Mood Swings & Mommy Brain: The Emotional Challenges of
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http://www.livescience.com/51043-pregnancy-emotions.html

Yardley (2008) Hanna (2001) Seamark & Lings (2004) Experiences and Aspirations of
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https://www.google.com.ph/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=1&cad=rja&
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