title: Do teenage mothers experience childbirth as traumatic?
abstract: Although several hundred thousand teenagers give birth each year in the United States, little is known about their psychological experience of childbirth, especially with respect to its traumatic impact. This article highlights the findings of a pilot study of 28 teenage mothers who reported on their traumatic and depressive symptoms related to childbirth. Literature on adolescent childbearing, posttraumatic stress, and postpartum depression is also reviewed.
authors.affiliation: University of Texas, Arlington, School of Nursing, Arlington 76019-0407, USA. c.anderson@uta.edu
authors.forename: Cheryl
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Anderson
authors.forename: Teena M
authors.initials: TM
authors.lastname: McGuinness
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001294:Attitude to Health; D019052:Depression, Postpartum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015404:Nursing Methodology Research; D036801:Parturition / Q000523:psychology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D011568:Psychiatric Nursing; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D040921:Stress Disorders, Traumatic / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires