UCSF

Abstract UNINTENDED THAI ADOLESCENT PREGNANCY: A GROUNDED THEORY STUDY Wanwadee Neamsakul University of California, San Francisco, 2008

The purpose of this grounded theory was to discover the social processes used by Thai adolescents with unintended pregnancies throughout the childbearing year. Twenty Thai adolescents with an unintended pregnancy, between 14-19 years old, enrolled between 24-28 weeks while receiving prenatal care clinic at Uttaradit Hospital, Thailand. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at 3 different points during pregnancy through 8-12 weeks postpartum.

"Kwa ja ru diang sa: A life journey of Thai adolescents from unintended pregnancy to motherhood" was identified as the basic social psychological process for adolescents who decided to carry an unintended pregnancy. The process was shaped within the contexts of family, life styles and values, traditions, religion, education, gender roles, and law.

The life journey began with "surrender (Yom jum non) to an unintended pregnancy" and which reflected the causal conditions. It started in the chronological order of events during pregnancy. "Preparation to become a new mother" comprised the action/interaction strategies used to cope with changes during pregnancy. "Support from their close circle is like nourishment for their soul (Yad nam tip chalom jai) and which gets them through difficult time (Tee peung yam yak)," were the intervening conditions that helped facilitate and balance the strategies used to cope with changes during pregnancy on the journey to motherhood. The journey ended with "Adolescent mom: I can do this mission." which described the consequences of the use of different strategies and the support from people surrounding them.

Needs and sources of support during pregnancy and transition to motherhood were identified. Specific strategies for clinicians and research questions were also identified. These findings held potential to inform the health care community on how best to meet the adolescents' needs during pregnancy and to foster them as new mothers.