Teenage motherʹs predictions of their support levels before and actual support levels after having a child

Objectives To evaluate to what extent teenage mothers are able to predict their postnatal support networks in the antenatal period, and the extent to which support correlates with depressive symptomatology and social class. Design A prospective cohort study. Setting Teenage antenatal clinic. Participants Teenage mothers (n = 124) aged less than 18 years. Intervention Women were surveyed in the antenatal period and again 6 months postpartum about their anticipated and actual levels of support using the Maternal Social Support Index. The questionnaire covered key issues involved in discharge planning such as the availability of help with household tasks, emergency respite, and communication. Subjects also completed social class data and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Main outcome measure Ability of pregnant teenagers to predict postnatal support and correlation of support with social class and depressive symptomatology. Results The key finding was that teenage mothers significantly overestimated their support networks in the antenatal period compared to the reality experienced 6 months postpartum (P = 0.0001). Dissatisfaction was most marked in the communication and daily activity support subscales. The level of support at 6 months postpartum correlated significantly with the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression score (P = 0.0001) and with social class (P = 0.017). Conclusion Services for teenage mothers that provide assistance with communication and daily support activities are required to help overcome the discrepancies between idealization and reality. Poor support correlates with depressive symptomatology and social class.