CERQUEIRA, Ludmilla Oliveira Lima    BARROS, Carolina Valério. The meanings of motherhood for adolescent mothers of premature. []. , 23, 2, pp.88-101. ISSN 1516-0858.

Prematurity is one of the factors that can interfere in the mother-baby bond development as it may be configured as a traumatic event for the mother who will face unexpected difficulties. Apart from what is observed in the adult women experience, it is necessary to study motherhood from the perspective of the adolescent mother on this atypical situation, since factors like the intense changes that occur in this phase may have them experience motherhood differently. A cross-sectional descriptive study was carried out evaluating 9 adolescents (15 to 19 years old) regarding the experience of maternalizing a premature baby admitted to a Neonatal ICU. The data were collected through semi-structured interviews and evaluated through content analysis. The results showed that the participants seem to suspend the process of adolescence to take care of their baby in the Neonatal ICU and found in this experience an opportunity for maturity and a means of entering adult life. It was concluded that teenage pregnancy is not directly related to the lack of information or that is completely unwanted. In some social contexts, maternity is perceived as a place of value and recognition, where the adolescent assumes the new social status of being a woman.

: prematurity; teenage pregnancy; neonatal ICU.

        · |     · |     · ( pdf )