“Era só uma criança”: compreensões sobre a maternidade vivida antes dos 14 anos

Abstract

Pregnancy and motherhood of girls under 14 years of age highlight a serious public health issue, as they always result from presumed violence. Constructions about health and care and understandings about childhood and adolescence have changed over time, as have debates about sexual violence and consent. Therefore, studies that identify the perceptions of women who had children before the age of 14 about pregnancy and motherhood are relevant to expand professionals' understanding of the situation and qualify assistance. Thus, the objective of this study was to understand how women who are currently over 18 years old perceive pregnancy and motherhood experienced before the age of 14. The research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee and is characterized as qualitative research. The participants were ten women, over 18 years of age, who had one or more pregnancies and had their children before the age of 14. Data were analyzed using thematic content analysis. The participants were women between 28 and 72 years old, who became pregnant between 1964 and 2007. Currently, none of them are married to the parent of the children they had before the age of 14. From the data analysis, it was possible to identify three categories: 1) “As if I were a woman” – the context of the pregnancy, 2) “Congratulations, it’s a girl” – the (lack of) health care, 3) “ Too small to handle it” - repercussions of the experiences. Initially, it is observed that the context was that marriage was mandatory after the pregnancy was discovered. In the following decades, the support network helped with pregnancy and maternity care. With the advancement of feminism, girl mothers, from 1980 onwards, began to identify pregnancy as a consequence of sexual violence. Access to health services was restricted and with the emergence of public policies, maternal and child health was expanded and prioritized. However, the specificities of girls' pregnancies are still not fully addressed, in addition to information on prevention, the possibility of terminating the pregnancy, modes of delivery and breastfeeding not being provided. Experiences of violence had an impact on motherhood, relationships with oneself, work and study, which generated short and long-term consequences. Therefore, debates are needed about violence against children and adolescents and about motherhood during this period, in order to offer protection, care and integral development to this population.