Ambivalent Grandmothers Raising Teen Daughters and Their Babies

Abstract

The study’s purpose was to describe the experience of young grandmothers in families with teen mothers. Cross-sectional surveys and phone interviews were conducted with a multiethnic sample of 25 mothers or guardians of teen mothers enrolled in an urban high school. Participants and their daughters completed measures of mother-daughter conflict, self-esteem, and motherdaughter relationships. Adescriptive thematic analysis was conducted with grandmothers’ transcribed responses to open-ended interview questions. 69% of grandmothers rated their overall relationship with their daughters as positive, and 46% indicated an improved relationship since the birth of the baby. Areas of mother-daughter conflict included childrearing decisions, time with friends, household chores, and teens’ choices/priorities. Interview data revealed themes of identity confusion in young grandmothers, the many stresses of early grandparenthood, pride and joy in grandchildren, family social support, and limited coping resources. Community and home-based multigenerational parent support interventions may address some of these grandmothers’ concerns.

‘I only give advice if I am asked’: Examining the grandmother's potential to influence infant feeding decisions and parenting practices of new mothers

“…24 Another consideration is that the new mother usually has the input of more than one set of grandparents and this potentially creates another level of difficulty in the relationship. The mother-daughter bond can be strong 25 and even when the relationship with their daughter has previously been shaky, having a baby tends to bring mother and daughter closer 26,27 ; conversely new mothers appear to experience more tension with their mother-in-laws. 27 Even when a good relationship does develop the paternal grandmother may be mindful of not compromising the mother-daughter relationship or, as revealed by one paternal grandmother in this study, be requested to keep her involvement secret to avoid the maternal grandmother finding out and any negative impact that may have for the new mother.…”

“…8 Indeed, perhaps the concept of 'learning together' should be extended to include all participants in the post-natal experience (midwives, new mothers, their significant others and the wider community) to ensure consistent, evidence-based strategies are implemented by all to foster breastfeeding success. Such a ''multilayered approach'' to breastfeeding support is in line with recommendations by Lavender et al 28 Because having a supportive relationship with their own mothers is positively associated with new mothers feeling more competent as parents 31 and lowered grandmother selfesteem has been associated with new mother depression 26 ; it is essential to understand how grandmothers cope with role strain and conflict and what factors are enhancing for their self-esteem and the grandmother/new mother relationship. Further research into the complexity of the grandmother/ new mother relationship that includes the new mother's perspective is needed to allow greater understanding of the way in which new mothers give meaning to all the verbal and non-verbal messages they receive and how they validate and use the information and advice that is available explicitly and implicitly to them.…”

“Having a Baby Changes Everything” Reflective Functioning in Pregnant Adolescents

“…When family support was absent, however, adolescents had more anxieties about parenting and managing their own lives. The adolescent’s own mother is usually central to the well-being of the young mother and her child (Oberlander, Black, & Starr, 2007; Sadler, Anderson, & Sabatelli, 2001; Sadler & Clemmens, 2004). Future grandmothers often have varying reactions to their daughters’ pregnancies and capacity to be supportive, as seen in these interviews.…”

“…This notion of a second chance afforded by teen pregnancy serves as a reminder that not all families and teens view teen pregnancy as a universally bad situation (Sadler & Clemmens, 2004; Spear, 2001). …”

Trajectories of Adolescent Mother–Grandmother Psychological Conflict During Early Parenting and Children's Problem Behaviors at Age 7

“…Psychological conflict (insulting, swearing, threatening, name-calling, and destroying property) is relatively common in multigenerational situations where adolescent mothers and grandmothers fill multiple roles differing in power (Sadler & Clemmens, 2004). In cross-sectional research, psychological conflict, a prevalent form of conflict typically studied in heterosexual relationships with the man as the perpetrator, is associated with externalizing problems in children and adolescents (Fantuzzo et al, 1991; Panuzio, Taft, Black, Koenen, & Murphy, 2007).…”