Exploring the Challenges of Adolescent Mothers From Their Life Experiences in the Transition to Motherhood: A Qualitative Study

Objective: Early motherhood and its impact on mothers, children, families and communities is a prevalent health challenge in developing countries that needs to be urgently explored. The aim of this study was exploring the challenges encountered by Iranian adolescent mothers during the transition to motherhood. Materials and methods: Inductive conventional content analysis approach was used in this qualitative study. Face to face in-depth semi-structured interviews were conducted with 16 Iranian teenage mothers in the Kerman province of Iran from March to December2016. Data collection continued until the point of data saturation and MAXQDA software was utilized in the analysis of the data. Results: Six main categories increasing burden of responsibility, experiencing physical problems, receiving insufficient support, inefficiency in maternal role, emotional and mental distress; and role conflict and 18 sub-categories were extracted from the data analysis. Conclusion: The findings of this study showed that adolescent mothers experience many physical, psychological, mental and social challenges. Therefore, it is expedient that special attention and care support is made available to them by health care providers. A comprehensive understanding of the challenges encountered by adolescent mothers, will aid the development of culturally appropriate health promotion guidelines and strategie.