This study aimed to analyze factors affecting social and family relations of young mothers in the two-year postpartum period. This was a cross-sectional study of 464 young mothers in Teresina, Piauí State, Brazil, who gave birth during the first four months of 2006 in six maternity hospitals. Data were collected from May to December 2008 after identifying the young women in the maternity hospital records. Multivariate analysis used multinomial logistic regression. Married young women (including those in common-law marriages) were 80% less likely to have negative relations with their partners. Participants 20 to 22 years of age related 2.4 times better with their mothers than those 17 to 19 years of age. Young women not attending school showed 97% higher odds of negative changes in relations with friends, and Catholics were 50% less likely to have worse relations with friends following childbirth. Measures are needed to orient individuals living with young mothers (especially their partners and mothers) concerning the importance of support in this phase of life, particularly encouraging them to stay in school.
Pregnancy; Adolescent; Family Relation; Social Support; Marriage