Adolescent motherhood is a complex situation, which entails new family, educational and work demands for adolescents besides the usual demands of adolescence itself. The aim of this work was to review studies concerning pregnancy and adolescent motherhood. The studies were grouped around five themes: factors associated with adolescent pregnancy, impact on the adolescent, experience of motherhood, mother-infant interaction and support from the family. For each theme, studies were analyzed and compared in terms of the methodological aspects and the main findings, which revealed a variety of contradictions. The studies are, to a large degree, descriptive in nature, comparing adolescent and adult mothers, using cross-sectional and quantitative design, indicating a predominantly negative experience with pregnancy and motherhood. The qualitative studies, on the other hand, highlight some positive aspects of the experience. Negative reports are particularly common during pregnancy, with adaptation to motherhood coming after the baby's birth. It is suggested that pregnancy and motherhood in adolescence should be better examined in the national context so as to organize interventions and public policies which embrace the diversity of this group.
Adolescent; Adolescent pregnancy; Mother-child relations