A description of Swedish midwives' reflections on their experience of caring for teenage girls during pregnancy and childbirth.
OBJECTIVE
to describe Swedish midwives' reflections on their experiences of caring for teenage girls during pregnancy and childbirth.


METHODS
a hermeneutical approach was used, with focus-group discussions as the method of data collection.


METHODS
three focus-group discussions were conducted in a county comprising urban, suburban and rural districts in south-western Sweden.


METHODS
a voluntary sample of 24 midwives, aged 32-61 years, who were caring for women in different birth settings, participated in 2004.


RESULTS
two main themes, with three sub-themes each, were generated by the midwives: (1) the teenage mother, as 'teenagers who are proud of becoming mothers', 'teenagers who are unprepared for becoming mothers' and 'teenagers with an immigrant background', and (2) 'the midwives' wish to care for the teenage mother', as 'taking the teenage mother seriously', 'being an important person for the teenage mother', and 'being a help for the teenage mother'.


CONCLUSIONS
the findings provide some understanding of the unique characteristics of caring for teenage mothers. For the midwives, the most important aspects of caring for the teenage mother included taking the teenage mother seriously, allowing the midwife herself to become an important person for the teenage mother, and being a help to the mother. This help requires the midwife to balance the different needs of each teenage mother.
Hertfelt Wahn
Elisabeth
E
Department of Woman and Child Health, Division of Reproductive and Perinatal Health Care, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden. wahn@telia.com
von Post
Iréne
I
Nissen
Eva
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D005260:Female; D017144:Focus Groups; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008875:Middle Aged; D008880:Midwifery / Q000379:methods*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009723:Nurse-Patient Relations; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods*; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D010353:Patient Education as Topic / Q000379:methods*; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013548:Sweden