“My body is strong and amazing”: Embodied experiences of pregnancy and birth among young women in foster care

Elizabeth M. Aparicio, Svetlana Shpiegel, Claudette Grinnell-Davis and Bryn King

Children and Youth Services Review, 2019, vol. 98, issue C, 199-205

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.

Keywords: Foster care; Teenage pregnancy; Teenage birth; Phenomenology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:98:y:2019:i:c:p:199-205

DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2019.01.007

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