"My body is strong and amazing": Embodied experiences of pregnancy and birth among young women in foster care. (March 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Aparicio, Elizabeth M.; Shpiegel, Svetlana; Grinnell-Davis, Claudette; King, Bryn
• Is Part Of: Children and youth services review. Volume 98(2019)
• Page Start: 199
• Page End: 205
• Publication Date: 2019-03
• Subjects: Foster care -- Teenage pregnancy -- Teenage birth -- Phenomenology; Social work with children -- Periodicals; Social work with youth -- Periodicals; Adolescent -- Periodicals; Child Welfare -- Periodicals; Social Work -- Periodicals; Service social aux enfants -- Périodiques; Service social à la jeunesse -- Périodiques; Electronic journals; 362.705
• DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.007
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0190-7409

Abstract

Abstract: Foster youth become pregnant at 2–3 times the rate of the general U.S. adolescent population. Yet, there is a dearth of literature exploring experiences of pregnancy and birth among such young women. This phenomenological study included 18 in-depth interviews with six mothers aged 19–22 years in or transitioning from foster care. Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, the specific phenomenological method used in this study, proceeded through six steps: 1. reading and re-reading; 2. initial noting; 3. developing emergent themes; 4. developing superordinate themes; 5. repeating steps 1–4 for each case; and 6. developing a set of final themes. This process yielded three themes characterizing how young women in foster care experience the phenomenon of pregnancy and birth: 1) Personal Pain, Personal Renewal; 2) Unplanned Pregnancies, Intentional Births; and 3) Powerful Bodies, Powerful Families. Findings extend the existing literature on adolescent pregnancy and childbirth, particularly among foster youth; related implications are discussed. Highlights: Foster youth are 2-3 times as likely to become pregnant as general population youth Current study found young mothers in care experience pregnancy and birth as a time when their bodies are "strong and amazing" Youth carefully consider whether to continue their pregnancies, often with little support or time to decide Youth in care need trauma-informed comprehensive sexual health education and services, from prevention to prenatal care Foster parents and other caregivers need support in how to address sexual health with the youth in their care