title: Weaving dreamcatchers: mothering among American Indian women who were teen mothers.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of this study was to explore the mothering experience and practice among reservation-based adult American Indian women who had been adolescent mothers.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Adolescent American Indian women are at an elevated risk for teen pregnancy and poor maternal/child outcomes. Identifying mothering practices among this population may help guide intervention development that will improve health outcomes.
  
  
  METHODS
  A collaborative orientation to community-based participatory research approach.
  
  
  METHODS
  Employing interpretive phenomenology, 30 adult American Indian women who resided on a Northwestern reservation were recruited. In-depth, face-to-face and telephone interviews were conducted between 2007-2008.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Women shared their mothering experience and practice, which encompassed a lifespan perspective grounded in their American Indian cultural tradition. Four themes were identified as follows: mother hen, interrupted mothering and second chances, breaking cycles and mothering a community. Mothering originated in childhood, extended across their lifespan and moved beyond mothering their biological offspring.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings challenge the Western construct of mothering and charge nurses to seek culturally sensitive interventions that reinforce positive mothering practices and identify when additional mothering support is needed across a woman's lifespan.
authors.affiliation: Center for Vulnerable Populations/Health Disparities, University of California-Los Angeles School of Nursing, California, USA.
authors.forename: Janelle F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Palacios
authors.affiliation: Psychosocial & Community Health, University of Washington School of Nursing, District of Columbia, USA.
authors.forename: Carolyn J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Strickland
authors.affiliation: Department of Family Health Care Nursing, University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing, California, USA.
authors.forename: Catherine A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Chesla
authors.affiliation: Yale School of Nursing, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
authors.forename: Holly P
authors.initials: HP
authors.lastname: Kennedy
authors.affiliation: Department of Community Health Systems, University of California-San Francisco School of Nursing, California, USA.
authors.forename: Carmen J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Portillo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007198:Indians, North American / Q000523:psychology*; D008425:Maternal Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D009034:Mother-Child Relations; D009035:Mothers / Q000523:psychology*; D016487:Parenting / Q000523:psychology; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000523:psychology*; D012380:Role; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: American Indian; culture; early childbearing; interpretive phenomenology; maternal role; mothering; native American; nurses; parenting; qualitative; teen pregnancy