Stigma as a Source of Stress for Adolescent Mothers and Their Babies

Abstract

Adolescent pregnancy and the babies of teen mothers have been a focus of attention and concern for many years. The literature on the health of pregnant and parenting teens, however, is largely silent about the impact of stigma on them and their children. Stigma is a pervasive cultural attitude, which leads us to overlook potentially good outcomes for this vulnerable population and contributes to poor outcomes for these mothers and babies. Stigma is a cause of stress leading to well-known adverse effects on health and development for both mothers and babies. This article reviews manifestations of social stigma in our communities, in the offices of professionals, and in policies that embed bias in our social systems. The impact of inequity has been vividly revealed over the course of the global pandemic. We review findings related to interventions associated with better outcomes and offer suggestions for more humane care and policies.

Double Stigma Among Pregnant Adolescents Living With HIV in Northern Uganda: A Pilot Cross-Sectional Study

“…Our study reveals the complex reality of double stigma faced by pregnant ALWHIV in Northern Uganda, who confront double stigma related to both HIV/AIDS and adolescent pregnancy This dual stigma may synergistically worsen their psychological and social well-being. The resulting stress, sense of hopelessness, and social isolation can precipitate mental health issues like anxiety, depression, suicidality, and other mental health conditions [42,43,52,58,59,68,[71][72][73][74][75][76][77]. Beyond mental health concerns, these adolescents face signi cant social consequences, such as deteriorating family and community relationships, and are at an increased risk of gender-based violence [34,75,76,78,79].…”

On Pregnancy Journey and Early Parenting: Young Indigenous Mothers in Context

“…I was told that I was not worthy as a child, everything that they spent on me was wasted, and the things that they did to me were put to waste. It The recent study of Wittenberg et al (2022) on stigma as a source of stress for adolescent mothers, alludes that stigma is a persistent cultural attitude that causes us to ignore potential positive outcomes for this vulnerable demographic and adds to negative consequences for these moms and babies. Stress from stigma is a documented contributor to harmful consequences on both mothers' and babies' health and development.…”