€Œbecause I Believe That If It's Meant to Happen It's Going to Happenâ€�: Understanding Experiences of Teen Moms in Rural Missouri

Background: Teen pregnancy rates have been declining in the United States for the past two decades. However, this is not the case for all areas of the United States. In Missouri, there are 41 rural counties where teen pregnancy rates vary from 42.4 to 90.1 per 1,000 (national rate is 43 per 1,000). Some of these counties actually saw and increase in pregnancy rates from 2009-2010. Most of the literature regarding teen pregnancy in the United States has focused on urban populations. Therefore, the research sought to explore factors that may contribute to these alarmingly high rates of teen pregnancy in rural Missouri.

Methods: Interviews were conducted with 15 teen girls (ages 15-19) from rural Missouri. The research objectives covered topics of generational/subjective norms (e.g. ideals around sex, condom use, and birth control use), teen behaviors, and religiosity. The interviews were analyzed, using a thematic analysis approach, by the PI and their mentor until they reached consensus. Several themes were identified based on the research objectives such as: absent father, decision-making (first-time intercourse), age of partner, support, religious impact/influence on decision-making to have sex, teen attitudes about birth control, specifically side effects.

Results: All of the teen girls had partners/fathers of their children who were older than them. The majority of teen moms also felt that their partner at the time influenced their decision to have sex for the first time. One teen girl stated, “Him definitely him” after being asked what led her to her decision to become sexually active for the first time. The majority of teen moms did not have a father figure in their life. Several teens expressed halting their birth control use or never using birth control because of perceived side effects. One teen mom stated, “Um, birth control. This is my opinion, not my parents, but I don't believe in birth control, like the shots or the pills or anything because they have such an effect on the woman's body.” The results regarding religiosity were fairly ambiguous. Some teen girls said their parents or grandparents are more religious than them and one girl stated, “My grandparents’ kind of think the pregnancy was like God's plan for me.” Whereas others would talk about not using birth control in the context of religion for example. “Because I believe that if it's meant to happen it's going to happen and that's the way it's supposed to be.”

Implications: This analysis implies these teen mothers feel negatively towards the use of birth control however, little is known about where these feelings come from and how these teens are getting information regarding birth control which could impact their opinions. Previous research suggested that teen births have significant negative effects on mom’s and child’s outcomes. Teen births effect teen mom’s financial wellbeing, mental health, and physical health. Future quantitative studies should focus on understanding if these themes are generalizable to more rural populations which in turn could influence sexual health and sex education intervention strategies.