Motivations and reasons for teenage pregnancy in a group of young mothers attended at the Santo Tomás Maternity Hospital in Panama City

Abstract

Introduction: In Panama, adolescent pregnancy is an important public health problem, more than because of its numbers, because of its biopsychosocial repercussions.
Objective: To determine the motivations and reasons that lead an adolescent to become a mother. Methods: Descriptive study. The sample consisted of 204 adolescents. A structured interview-type questionnaire was used. Results: The mean age was 17.6 years. The 72.1% had a mother/sister with a history of adolescent pregnancy. The 57.4% attributed their pregnancy to lack of impulse control. 30.4% disclose that their pregnancy was wanted. 38.2% of these pregnancies correspond to feelings of invulnerability to pregnancy; 15.7% to low self-esteem.
The reasons for pregnancy linked to contraceptives are as follows: 33.4% fear of using it; 25% lack of knowledge; 22.5% lack of money; 11.3% feelings of embarrassment when requesting it. Conclusions: Copying an intergenerational reproductive pattern was constituted as the main reason for pregnancy. The desire for motherhood to give meaning to life was one of the most frequently mentioned. Among unwanted pregnancies, more than half pointed to lack of impulse control.
Family reasons, such as escaping from problems at home, were the least reported.