Experiences of pregnancy among Iranian Adolescents

Authors: Nahid dehghan nayeri, Mansureh tajvidi

Abstract

Purpose: Pregnancy during adolescence is considered a social issue associated with medical, emotional and social outcomes for the mother, child and family. The current research examines experience of pregnancy among Iranian Adolescents.

Methods: We used the qualitative content analysis method. We recruited a purposive sample of fourteen pregnant adolescents. We carried out deep interviews with them.

Results: We came up with three themes after analyzing the interviews: 1.Psychological reactions including three subthemes of feelings, concerns, fears, 2.physical reactions including the subthemes of symptoms and feelings and 3.spiritual reactions including religious beliefs and faith.

Conclusions: The present study showed that for the purpose of assessing pregnancy in adolescents, one should consider the context and culture in which the adolescent lives. This is because such factors as preplanned or unwanted pregnancy, imposed or consensual marriage within or outside the family may draw different reactions from adolescents. Hence, all those factors need to be considered in order to plan health education during pregnancy for this age group.

Keywords: Experiences, Pregnancy, Adolescents