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Teenage Childbearing in Sweden - Depressive Symptoms among Teenage Mothers, Influencing Factors, Perception of Support and Self-Esteem - A Comparative Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Hertfelt Wahn Elisabeth and Nissen Eva

Background: Becoming a teenage mother is confronted with parental responsibilities at a time when a teenage girl has to deal with her own intense development. Depressive symptoms and postpartum depression are commonly reported in teenage mothers and are of particular concern since depressive symptoms are linked with poor general health.

Objective: To examine if the perception of support, self-esteem and social background factors differ between teenage mothers with depressive symptoms compared with teenage mothers without depressive symptoms.

Design: A descriptive comparative cross-sectional study.

Participants: Swedish speaking teenage mothers aged 15-19 who gave birth in hospital in a county of south western Sweden, n=76. The group was divided into two groups based on their score on Edinburgh postnatal depression scale, depressive symptoms, n=24 and without depressive symptoms, n=52.

Measurements and findings: Data were collected by a questionnaire including socio-demographic variables, scales to measure support, self-esteem and depressive symptoms. Differences between teenage mothers scoring high or low on the EPDS were tested. Teenage mothers with depressive symptoms perceived less support from family and friends and had lower self-esteem than teenage mothers without depressive symptoms. They had more often been exposed to mental/physical abuse and were more often smokers than the teenage mothers without depressive symptoms. Support from the midwives were generally well perceived by teenage mothers, but support from the midwife attending delivery was less well perceived by teenage mothers with depressive symptoms.

Conclusion: Teenage mothers with depressive symptoms may have a difficult life situation characterized by low self-esteem and perceived failing support from their social network.

Implications for practice: The result suggests that assessment of the health status of the teenage mother should include screening for depressive symptoms, risk-taking behaviours and perception of current family/friend and partner support to inform individual planning of care.