The World of the Teenage Mother and her Child

Abstract

As the children of teenage mothers pass through infancy and into early childhood, they and their parents are exposed in a new way to forces and influences from which they were hitherto protected. The relative disadvantages during teenage motherhood produce an over-representation of social problems in the lives of young mothers and their children, which are discussed in this chapter. AIDS is a new and particularly dangerous threat. However, despite this gloomy picture, many young mothers create happy and loving family lives.