title: Getting to hear the voices of the unwed mothers: their decisions to keep their babies for lone motherhood.
abstract: Drawing upon interview data from a study investigating the experiences of 20 unwed mothers in Hong Kong, this article explores the narratives of the participants, especially their decisions in keeping their babies and to taking up the responsibilities of lone motherhood. Specific focus is given to the importance of their narratives so that their voices are heard - how they positioned themselves in relation to dominant cultural scripts surrounding lone motherhood. Their voices have relevance for helping professionals working with young people who play a useful role in facilitating and supporting unwed mothers within their locality, as well as for the general public who play an important role in "breaking" the labels and isolations of unwed mothers.
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Department of Applied Social Sciences, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hunghom, Hong Kong, PR China. sslitswa@inet.polyu.edu.hk
authors.forename: Siu-Wai
authors.initials: SW
authors.lastname: Lit
mesh_terms: D000028:Abortion, Induced; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005195:Family Relations; D005260:Female; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D007086:Illegitimacy; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D033262:Narration; D015406:Single Parent / Q000523:psychology*; D055815:Young Adult