Teenage motherhood: Support systems in the context of postpartum depression

Abstract

The present study investigated the main figures in the support system of teenage mothers, showing their possible roles and the differences between mothers with and without indicators of depression according to the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). Eight teenage mothers participated in the study, four with indicators of depression and four without. Interview content analysis revealed that mothers with the indicators mentioned fewer supportive figures than the others, either because depression may have affected the maternal perception of the mother's support system or because support for the mother was insufficient. The fact that the participants were experiencing adolescence concurrently with motherhood could possibly heighten the ambivalences of these developmental stages.