Maternity of Minors

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Maternity of minors per 1,000 girls between the ages of 15 and 19 in 2008
World map showing the number of births of minors between 15 and 19 years of age per 1000 women in 2002
Trends in motherhood among 15–17 year old girls in the US since 1970

The motherhood of minors is afflicted with a stigma in many developed countries and represents a social problem. If the mother comes from the lower class , her children are often poorer and less successful at school.

In developing countries, motherhood of minors - depending on the age of majority - is more common within the marriage , where it is not afflicted with a social stigma.

The youngest mother was the Peruvian Lina Medina at the (unsecured) age of 5 years.

Frequency of pregnancy of minors in different countries

Underage Birth Rate in OECD Countries (2010)
country Underage Maternity Rate

in 1000 women aged 15-19

South Korea 5.5
Netherlands 5.2
Italy 4.8
Sweden 5.9
Germany 9.8
Switzerland 4.3
Austria 11.2
United States 17.4 (2018)
United Kingdom 23.5
Mexico 64.3
Chile 59.4
Turkey 35.9

A Save the Children report found that 13 million children are born to women under the age of 20 each year, 90% of them in developing countries. Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death in women between the ages of 15 and 19 in developing countries. Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of underage maternity in the world.

In Niger, 87% of women are married before they are 18 and 53% have at least one child before they are 18. In the Indian subcontinent, adolescents are often associated with minor motherhood, with a higher rate of minor motherhood in rural areas than in urban areas. In Indonesia and Malaysia the rate of underage mothers has fallen sharply, and it is extremely low in the industrialized nations of Asia such as South Korea and Singapore.

In Europe , the general birth rate and the rate of underage mothers have decreased since 1970. The UK has the highest underage maternity rate in Europe and, at the same time, a higher abortion rate than most other European countries. In most European countries, the underage maternity rate is very low in a global comparison, which is due to the use of contraceptives (in the Netherlands and Scandinavia), the observance of traditional values ​​(in Italy or Spain) or a combination of both (in Switzerland) is returned. Frequent teenage abortions and the highest teenage maternity rate in the industrialized world occur in the United States. The rate has been falling there since 1990, although it has remained higher among Hispanics and black Americans than among white and Asian Americans. According to studies by the Guttmacher Institute, 25% of the drop is due to abstinence, 75% to better contraceptives.

Reasons for the pregnancy of minors

In developed countries, underage pregnancies are mostly unplanned. Adolescents are rarely well informed about family planning methods, have no access to contraceptive methods, or are ashamed to ask about them. Nonetheless, some studies found that the rate of contraceptive use in girls was similar to that among women. When adolescents use contraceptives, they often prove to be unreliable if condoms are used incorrectly or if they forget to take the pill. Incorrect use was found more frequently in poor adolescents. The Pearl Index is higher for young people than for older people. 60% of underage mothers stated that they did not want sex, 11 to 20% of underage motherhoods were described as consequences of rape.

Socio-economic factors

Minor motherhood is higher in countries with higher inequality

There is a strong link between poverty and minor motherhood, with poor countries such as Niger and Bangladesh having a higher minor maternity rate than rich countries such as Japan and Switzerland. In rich regions in Italy, the rate is very low at 3.3 per 1,000. In poor Mezzogiorno (southern Italy) it is 10 per 1,000. The sociologist Mike A. Males established this connection for California.

county Share of households below the poverty line Birth rate *
Marin County 5% 5
Tulare County (Whites) 18% 50
Tulare County (Hispanics) 40% 100

* in 1000 women aged 15–19

Young women with low educational expectations are at greater risk of becoming mothers under age. An adolescent is more likely to have her own minor motherhood if the mother and older sisters were minor mothers.

A study by the University of Chicago describes growing up with foster parents as a risk factor: Almost half of all women raised in foster families in the USA were pregnant at least once before the age of 19. That doesn't stop when you leave the foster family. A study by the Utah Department of Human Services shows that the birth rate of teenage ex-foster children was three times the average birth rate of teenagers of the same age

Daniel Goleman names a lack of emotional education as the main factor in teenage pregnancies . a. based on a 1989 study by Marion Underwood and Melinda Albert who observed that 40% of girls who had constant problems with teachers as a ten-year-old became mothers before they graduated from high school .

Medical factors

Premature births and low birth weight are more common. In the United States, pregnant teens often suffer from nutritional deficiencies due to unhealthy diets, fast food, and weight loss diets.

In the USA there are studies of a public service that provides a caregiver for every teenage mother. These “nurse-family partnerships” reduce the risk of neglect and expand the mother's chances in life. They also lower the crime rate among female children. That of the young remains untouched.

Socio-economic and psychological consequences

Underage mothers and their children appear to have poorer life chances, with studies suggesting that it may be a sham correlation. Underage mothers often come from the lower social class and therefore have fewer opportunities to mobilize their own resources; if they had more resources, their children would probably be better off.

Early motherhood is often an “escape” from an unbearable family or training situation, threatened unemployment or hopelessness with regard to the desired career. Parenthood may then appear to be the only way to achieve recognized social status. Underage mothers often come from problematic family backgrounds. The young mother may long to develop a close emotional relationship with a child of her own. The desire for emotional closeness is based on the longing for security and affection, which can also be traced back to the lack of self-experience. Perhaps she would like to bind the child's father to her through a child together.

Consequences for the mother

A young woman's school career can be negatively affected by minor motherhood. Underage mothers are more likely to drop out of school than other women.

A study conducted in the US found that 60% of underage mothers lived below the poverty line. Fifty percent of underage mothers in the United States received social assistance within the first year of their child's life.

In Great Britain, only 11% of underage mothers lived on their own income, 89% were unemployed. Most UK underage mothers live in poverty.

The less education the young mother and her parents have, the more likely they are to have a second child in a short period of time, as is the case with 1/4 of underage mothers within two years.

Since experience has shown that the living conditions for underage parents are very difficult and characterized by dependencies, stigmatization and poverty, these young people soon become disillusioned. Due to the obligations that parenthood brings with it, they are often very lonely, as they do not have the time to pursue age-typical activities with other people of the same age. This has a strong influence on personal development and self-esteem. They are still at an age where they have to deal with their own development tasks. Apart from material dependencies, they stand between dependency and autonomy in personal development. They are still dependent on their parents and are in the process of replacing them. The desire for a child can possibly be perceived as resistance and rebellion against the parents, as an attempt to break out of the family without having a clear idea of ​​a life with a child.

The social background has a strong influence on the further development of minor mothers: For a mother who grew up in an advantageous situation as a child, a social downward spiral for mother and child is less likely than for mothers who, according to the results of a study published in 2007 even lived in poverty.

Consequences for the child

Children of underage mothers are more likely to suffer from learning disabilities and behavioral disorders than children of older mothers. They perform worse in school, sit down more often and finish school less often.

Daughters of adolescent parents themselves are prone to underage motherhood. Sons are more likely to commit delinquency and usually three times as likely to be in prison.

The young mother still lacks the competence to bring up and establish a good relationship due to her own immaturity and the lack of herself suffered in her own problematic family. This has an unfavorable effect on the development of your child, as they are unable to cater to the special needs of an infant or toddler. The general burdens make it difficult to deal with empathy and build a secure bond with parents. So one has to assume that in addition to the lack of external support for the growing child, the situation-related uncertainties and imponderables also make it very difficult, if not impossible, to develop an internal spiritual support.

Consequences for other family members

A study shows that younger sisters of underage mothers place less value on a good education. The former often have to help with babysitting and are more likely to become minor mothers themselves.

Abuse

One study found an increased number of serious abuse of pregnant teenagers and young mothers by their partners . Of 570 pregnant women under 18 years of age examined, 62% were abused by their partners within the first 2 years. Most often this happened in the first 3 months after giving birth. 75% of those who experienced abuse during pregnancy were also severely abused in the first 2 years after giving birth.

Minor Motherhood in Art, Literature, and Film

literature

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d e f The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (2002). Retrieved May 27, 2006.
  2. ↑ Population Council (2006) Unexplored Elements of Adolescence in the Developing World ( Memento of the original dated August 14, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. Population Briefs , January 2006, Vol. 12, No. 1. Retrieved April 18, 2007. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.popcouncil.org
  3. ↑ OECD Family database, SF2.4 Share of births outside marriage and teenage births , accessed March 1, 2017.
  4. ↑ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Births: Provisional Data for 2018. US Department of Health & Human Services, March 1, 2019, accessed March 14, 2019 (American English).
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  6. ↑ Locoh, Therese. (2000). " Early Marriage And Motherhood In Sub-Saharan Africa ." WIN News. Retrieved July 7, 2006.
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  8. ↑ a b c UNICEF. (2001). Retrieved July 7, 2006.
  9. ↑ Wind, Rebecca. The Guttmacher Institute. (February 19, 2004). " US Teenage Pregnancy Rate Drops For 10th Straight Year ". Retrieved July 7, 2006.
  10. ↑ Teenage Mothers: Decisions and Outcomes - Provides a unique review of how teenage mothers think Policy Studies Institute, University of Westminster, 30 Oct 1998
  11. ↑ Slater, Jon. (2000). “ Britain: Sex Education Under Fire ”. The UNESCO Courier. Retrieved July 7, 2006.
  12. ^ The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. (1997). What the Polling Data Tell Us: A Summary of Past Surveys on Teen Pregnancy ( Memento of the original dated February 23, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved July 13, 2006. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.teenpregnancy.org
  13. ↑ BBC News
  14. ↑ Besharov, Douglas J. & Gardiner, Karen N. (1997). Trends in Teen Sexual Behavior . Children and Youth Services Review, 19 (5/6), 341-67. Retrieved July 13, 2006.
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  16. ↑ Gershenson, Harold et al. (1989) "The Prevalence of Coercive Sexual Experience Among Teenage Mothers." Journal of Interpersonal Violence, Vol. 4 (2).
  17. ↑ Indicator: Births of 1000 women (15-19 ys) - 2002 ( Memento of the original from July 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. UNFPA, State of World Population 2003, accessed January 22, 2007. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / globalis.gvu.unu.edu
  18. ↑ Allen et al. (2007) Does the UK government's teenage pregnancy strategy deal with the correct risk factors? Findings from a secondary analysis of data from a randomized trial of sex education and their implications for policy Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health 2007; 61: 20-27, Referenced January 26, 2007
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  22. ^ A b A Joint Project of The National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy and UCAN (Uhlich Children's Advantage Network) February 16, 2006
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  27. ↑ John Eckenrode et al .: Long-term Effects of Prenatal and Infancy Nurse Home Visitation on the Life Course of Youths , ARCH PEDIATR ADOLESC MED / VOL 164 (NO. 1), JAN 2010, available online as full text in PDF . Last accessed on January 7, 2009
  28. ↑ Levine Coley, Rebekah & Chase-Lansdale, Lindsay. (1997). Adolescent Pregnancy and Parenthood: Recent Evidence and Future Directions ( Memento of the original from September 29, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . American Psychologist . Retrieved May 29, 2006. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.jcpr.org
  29. ^ Social Exclusion Unit. (1999). Teenage Pregnancy ( Memento of the original from October 12, 2006 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved May 29, 2006. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.socialexclusion.gov.uk
  30. ↑ Kalmuss, DS, Namerow, PB (1994). Subsequent childbearing among teenage mothers: the determinants of a closely spaced second birth . In: Family Planning Perspectives, 26 (4), 149-53, 159. PMID 7957815
  31. ↑ (Thiessen & Anslinger 2004, Garst 2003) ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.gesundheitberlin.de
  32. ↑ Hildesheim University of Applied Sciences, Research, Teenage Motherhood ( Memento from June 11, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) ( MS Word ; 47 kB)
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  34. ^ American Academy of Pediatrics. (2001). Care of Adolescent Parents and Their Children ( Memento of the original from September 30, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Pediatrics, 107 (2), 429-434. Retrieved May 29, 2006. @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / aappolicy.aappublications.org
  35. ↑ Hofferth, Sandra L. & Reid, Lori. (2002). Early Childbearing and Children's Achievement And Behavior over Time . Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health, 34 (1). Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  36. ↑ Maynard, Rebecca A. (Ed.). (1996). Kids Having Kids ( Memento of the original dated November 26, 2005 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.urban.org archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Retrieved May 29, 2006.
  37. ↑ Parenthood and Education ( Memento from March 14, 2012 in the Internet Archive )
  38. ^ East, Patricia L. (1996). Do Adolescent Pregnancy and Childbearing Affect Younger Siblings? . Family Planning Perspectives, 28 (4) . Retrieved May 27, 2006.