Adolescent Mothers’ Nurturing Practices

Adolescent mothers are less likely to stimulate their child through affectionate behavior such as verbal communication or to be sensitive and accepting toward his or her need. Birth is not the beginning of life. Instead, it is merely an interruption in the developmental pattern that began at the time of conception. It is the time when the individual must make a transition from the internal environment of the mother's uterus to the world outside the mother's body, Erfina, 2019.

The study employed the descriptive-correlational method of research. The respondents were the 115 adolescent mothers aged 15-23 from the selected barangays of Bantay, poblacion, farmland and mountainous. Total enumeration was considered in the study. Findings show that, there are more respondents who are 18 years old, unwed with a live-in partner but with parents consent and finished elementary. The majority of the respondents are housewives, catholic and belong to an extended type of family and with monthly income of P 1000-4,999.00. On the other hand, the majority of them have given birth to a full term, no pre term, no abortion, with one living child and delivered via normal spontaneous delivery. There is a greater percentage of the respondents who had their first pregnancy at the age of 17, had one pregnancy (gravidity) and delivered in the hospital.

In general, there is a "Good" extent of nurturing practice among the respondents. Likewise, the respondents from the Poblacion and those from the Farmland and Mountainous areas have "Good" nurturing practices. Moreover, there is a significant relationship between the overall extent of nurturing practices and the respondents' and educational attainment as well as on the manner of delivery. It was recommended in the study that adolescent mothers should find time to be with their adolescent children so that they will not seek the company of others which may lead to early marriage.

Moreover, health workers should intensify their health education on the nurturing practices especially along feeding and health seeking behavior. However, not to neglect the other aspects of nurturing practices like hygiene, immunizations and safety and protection. They should be more vigilant in their health teachings among the residents of the different barangays situated along the highways. Lastly, similar study should be conducted with more respondents and the inclusion of other variables under nurturing practices to make the study more conclusive.