Review of Related Literature

CHAPTER II
REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
From 2000 to 2010, the number of live births by teenage mothers in the Philippines rose by
more than 60 percent, latest data from the National Statistics Office showed.
Another alarming fact is that the number of teenage mothers who gave birth to their second or
third child during their teenage year has increased in the last 10 years. This is according to the
data shown in the press conference in Quezon City by Carmelita Erica, administrator and civil
registrar general of the National Statistics Office. ( Ime Morales, July 9, 2013) Teenage
pregnancy is a global issue and a major contributor to school drop-out among girls. Permanent
expulsion was one of the solutions made for teenage pregnancy but this has been proven
ineffective and unfair to the girls. Now there is a return to school policy where a student is
temporarily dismissed from school due to teenage pregnancy to further pursue their education.
(Okeyo, 2012)
As stated by Brown and Amankwaa (2007) “As more female college students are involved in
sexual relationships their risk of conception increases. However, when pregnancy occurs it is
only the woman who bears the burden and risk of the pregnancy and in most cases child care.“
often these types of pregnancy are unplanned or planned caring for a child becomes a full time
job. Having a child while being a student becomes stressful because child rearing consumes
time and energy, with a few exeptions the women are the primary care giver of the child.
According to Kidwell (2004), rearing a child while being s full-time student may be daunting and
difficult however, it will be easier if she has a partner or a family member who can help her in
taking care of the child.
With the increase of higher education students, 10% of this population are parents or mothers
who are hoping to give their children a better future and attending to their needs through
receiving a degree. These non-traditional students are often Student Mothers and should be
given special attention because aside from their role as student they are also mothers and care
givers at home. Many see or consider their families a hindrance to their education which is
wrong they should see it as a motivator because primarily, Student mother go back to studying
because they want to provide for their child. (Wilsey, 2013)
When pregnant students and student mothers are expected to subordinate their needs and
desires to those of their children and families, they are forced to grapple with the conflicting
roles of motherhood and studentship (Berg &Mamhute, 2013). Brown &Amankwaa, (2007)
stated that parenting is a very stressful and some women cannot handle all the tasks involved
especially the first time mothers and need help or assistance from the people around them.
Although having someone help the mother is good but the expectation of receiving support after
giving birth to a baby often causes Stressors that may lead to depression during postpartum
period. Many student mothers have expressed feelings of guilt, worry and inadequacy in both as
a student and as a mother.( Thompson, 2004)
Though not always does being a student mother have negative effect, it also has positive
effects. Story (1999), as cited by Brown &Amankwaa (2007), has found out that student mothers
are more responsible than those of regular students. He has seen that girls who were
irresponsible before pregnancy has become more responsible after pregnancy and ismore less
likely to drop out of College than the regular students.
For women who juggle family and student responsibilities, the lack of time is one of the major
issues faced. (Liversidge, 2004) Many student mothers use different coping strategies to adjust
to their situation. As stated by Grohman (2009), student mothers depend on time management
to handle the many different tasks of a student mother. Another coping cited by
Grohman&Renelamn (2009) is managing tasks to handle the things needed to be done as both
student and a mother as well as emotional and physical support from both the partner and
parents of the student mother.
Okey (2012) has said student-mothers go through a number of challenges as they live double
lives as mothers and students. Often challenges are faced like lack of support due to other
factors like lack of finances and time being limited.
A study by Boutan (2012) shows the feeling of student mother in regards to lifestyle she said the
Gale (her participant) said she juggles multiple lifestyles as a full-time student and a full-time
mom. This does make her feel disconnected from campus life.
Due to student mothers’ situation being difficult they have adapted coping mechanism.
According to Okeyo (2012), Their coping mechanisms included: problem-focused, avoidance
and emotion-focused strategies and the support they received upon resuming studies were
spiritual and social support.
It was argued that raising a child involves a great deal of financial, emotional, and practical
planning (Kidwell, 2004). it is necessary to make sure that there are adequate child care
resources available. This may be very difficult to do if the student is going to school full-time.
However, if the student decides to remain in school and take care of the child it may be more
possibleif she has a partner or family member who will provide additional help to care for the
child (Kidwell, 2004). Parenting is very stressful and some women cannot deal with all of the
tasks that are involved. It is best if there are people around who are there to assist. Although it
is best to have family, friends and spousal support after giving birth to a baby this expectation
often causes Stressors that may lead to depression during the postpartum period. (Brown
&Amankwaa, 2007)
Related Studies
According to the research of Grunseit 2007. One major contemporary social problem
confronting most countries in the world is Teenage pregnancy. From the first world countries
such as the United states to the third world countries, this problem has been a source of worry
for policy makers, social workers and other human service providers due to its negative
repercussions on the girl-child. Their findings showed a range of teenage pregnancy in
academic performance. The randomly selected 30 female students mother InGrunseit they
found that teenage pregnancy to the USA had the highest rate of adolescent pregnancy. In
addition, he stated that every year more teenage girls become pregnant, many younger than 12
years old. Xinhua also reported that in Ghana, nearly 33.4% of recorded childbirths occurred to
teenagers between ages thirteen 12 to 19 years old. Result showed that you have an symptoms
morning sickness. Other common mental symptom includes depression and stress lack of
confidence and poor academic performance etc.
This report was based on childbirths that were reported in public hospitals. The situation is
worse in the rural areas where traditional birth attendants are used and no statistical records are
kept. More disheartening is a report from Xinhua (2005) that one out of three girls aged 1 to 19
residing in the central region of Ghana has had a child. Most authors have linked poverty to
teenage pregnancy and its subsequent motherhood. They see poverty as a cause at the same
time an effect of teenage pregnancy.
For the study done by the researchers who asked 30 young mother between age 15-19 to fill
out questionnaires and they also interviewed 30 of them who were considered as young mother.
The researcher analysed and compiled the data.

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CHAPTER II

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE

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