“My pregnancy was a flash of lightning!” the impact of the birth of premature babies on adolescent mothers

Abstract

IntroductionThe pregnancy and the motherhood of adolescents are complex phenomena that happen on the trajectory of life of the young persons under physical, psychological and social aspects.AimTo deepen knowledge of the emotional experiences of socially disadvantaged adolescent primiparous with premature babies.MethodQualitative-clinical. Criteria of inclusion: age group, to be primiparous with premature baby and acceptance in participating of the inquiry. The intentional sample was made up of five adolescents aged between 16 and 19. The study was carried between junho/2008 to outubro/2009. Semi-directed interviews based on the trigger question “Tell me about your pregnancy and your baby's birth”. The data were submitted for thematic analysis and from this the following categories emerged: 1. Late discovery of pregnancy: “Mine was a lightning pregnancy”; 2. The symbolization of the child: “It was a present for me…” discussed within a theoretical framework of reference, with special emphasis on the psychodynamic approach.ResultsOn the psychological level, the adolescents presented feelings of omnipotence, unfamiliarity, shock, surprise, anger, fear, anguish and happiness at the birth of their child. They appeared to use immature, narcissistic and neurotic defense mechanisms such as denial, dissociation, acting out and idealization as well as revealing the desire to be good mothers and to engage in maternity.ConclusionThese finds can subsidize the team of health responsible for the service in the UTIN, developing attitudes more effective of support and giving emotional presence aiming to reduce the fear and anguishes resulting from the situation.