The crucial event in a woman’s life is that she becomes a mother, although the experience is different from a teenager in high school. This case study tried to add to research aimed at understanding the experience of a mother during her studies. This study aims at understanding the motherhood of a young graduate student at high school San Felipe, San Manuel, Tarlac, the Philippines. This research consists of qualitative interviews and observation semi-structured as data collection tools. Interviews have been recorded, transcribed and evaluated manually using thematic content analysis. The responder juggled between a mother’s and a student’s duties. She has been supported by the family to help her study, yet occasionally she chooses to decide alone. The participant thinks on the life of other young moms, who opt to complete high school in the future to create a nice family.
Keywords – adolescent mother; life experience; dual responsibilities
For every woman, motherhood is a significant life event. The situation, however, is different for a teenager who becomes a mother throughout the educational process. Teenagers facing early maternity may encounter conflicts between the demands of their mother and teenagers. A woman may be vulnerable and face severe difficulties in parenting (Mangeli, Tirgari, Cheraghi, and Rayyani, 2018). For young moms, the adjustment to parenthood is harder and may increase responsibilities. A teenager’s mother may influence her own family and her community connections (Herrman and Nandakumar, 2012), since she is unwilling to be a mother (Aparicio, Pecukonis and O’Neale, 2015), and must at the same time continue the function of her mother and the developmental job of adolescence (Riva Crugnola, Ierardi, Gazzotti and Albizzati, 2014).
A woman may undergo a time of upheaval, instability and rearrangement of life when she becomes a mother (Javadifar et al., 2016). Motherhood is the most difficult position a woman may possibly have had. Different difficulties, selflessness, and sacrifices have all become mothers once, and parenthood is an important part of life for many women. The mother’s ability is influenced by her self-confidence, mastery and connection to her kid (Mercer and Ferketich, 1994). Many parents are pleased when their children reach their teenage years. Teenagers dramatically grasp the picture of life that distinguishes them while they are younger. Youth is tough for most parents to combine hormonal fluctuations, social difficulties and emotional volatility. They frequently experience psychological difficulties throughout the development of teenagers (Kakkad, Trivedi, Trivedi, and Raichandani, 2014). Many of these issues are not noticed by their parents immediately.
The World Health Organization defines adolescence as the 10-19 year age range. It is projected in the Philippines that 1 in 10 Philippine teenagers will become pregnant (Philippine Statistics Authority, 2018); this alarming increase in adolescent pregnancies will put the country into poverty, reflect the financial situation of the young mothers and hamper the ability to attend school. The loss of possibilities for young people may be seen in rich and developing nations, making it a worldwide social problem under certain conditions (Gatbonton, 2021).
The greatest difficult and continuing public health issue is the pregnancy of young people. The Philippines has one of the highest youth birth rates among ASEAN countries; according to the World Bank statistics, 57 births per 1,000 women aged 15–19 years are each year (UNFPA, 2020). There is no substantial decrease in teenage fertility in the Philippines alone (Maravilla, Betts, and Alati, 2018). Furthermore, 14 percent of teenagers between 15 and 19 years of age in Filipino reported moms or children that had multiple children (Salvador, Sauce, Alvarez and Rosario, 2016). (Maravilla, 2019). Pregnancy is a crucial period for the lives of young people. The early onset of sexual intercourse and delay in marriage have, according to Watts, Liamputtong and Mcmicheal (2015), led to more adolescents than ever before, increasing the risks of early maternity.
For all adolescents, social development is important. Early in maternity, they may suffer a lack of education and poverty, resulting in single parenting (Salvador, Sauce, Alvarez, and Rosario, 2016). Teen moms have many physical, psychological, social and spiritual difficulties, including lack of decision-making and parenting abilities. Taukeni (2014) suggests that pupils may miss lectures, feel weak, faint and disregard lessons in this circumstance. The challenges of a dual role may lead women to quit one job in favor of the other (Springer, Parker, and Leviten-Reid, 2008).
The first step for developing a decent life is education, and regardless its socioeconomic position, everyone is right. Young mothers’ rights to education are acknowledged in the Philippines. It is tough for a student mother to play their double duty and combine maternity and study without compromising either (Behboodi Moghadam, Ordibeheshti Khiaban, Esmaeili, and Salsali, 2017). Activities in all subjects are difficult and may place a considerable strain on the mother of a student. In addition, adolescent maternity is important for dropouts in high school because they are ashamed about their position.
The Department of Education (DepEd) has published DepEd Order No. 74, s. 2010 also known as the DORP Guidelines to decrease the drop-out rate in which adolescent pregnancy is involved. DepEd Secretary Leonor M. Briones firmly discourages public schools from driving out pregnant children who may make them suffer trauma (Revita, 2017). In addition, if students do not complete their education, they are encouraged to participate in the alternative learning system (ALS). Indeed, 80 per cent of students throughout the country are women and drop off after reaching the age of 15, according to G.H. Ambat, the Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs and Alternative Learning, G.H.
Female students also leave high school because some get pregnant and opt to get married early and have difficulty balancing their education and parental responsibilities (B. Miasco, 2019). Education is now adaptable and available to everyone, regardless of the vulnerabilities of the pupils. There are international and local research on the life experience of adolescent moms. There are very few studies available that focuses on the dual responsibilities of adolescent moms (as mothers and students at the same time) particularly enrolled in the neighborhood high school. Understanding the dual function of a teen mother enrolled in a neighborhood high school may offer fresh insights for health care professionals and policy makers to respond properly to the problems of teenagers. This article is about a 17-year-old mother who was formerly a student of a researcher who enrolled in high school San Felipe, San Manuel, Tarlac, Philippines. This is the only teenager mother of that school from 2019-2020 who has never stopped studying in her circumstances. This research is a case study of a young mother who discussed her learning experiences and how she persisted while she was a mom in high school.
The aim of the research
This research was designed to explore the dual role of a San Felipe High School teenage mother.
Methodology
This article utilized the case study method to analyze the participant’s experience in being a mother and successful student at the same time. A case study method allows a thorough and multifaceted examination of difficult problems in circumstances of real life (Crowe et al., 2011). Meriam (quoted by Hung, Badejo, and Bennett, 2014) stated that the case studies explicitly examined a problem utilizing various information sources to provide a detailed description of the scenario. A deviant case sample was utilized to choose the research respondent, based on her unique motherhood and simultaneously a student in the 2019-2020 class at San Felipe High School. A deviant case sample highlights a person with unusual or unique traits or circumstances (Glen, 2015). The researcher examined her family for triangulation and in-depth examination.
A semi-structured questionnaire was employed as the main technique of data gathering by the researcher. The investigator watched the activities of the interviews and utilized field notes for participant parents who refused to use digital recording equipment. The interviews were carried out during a house visit since the respondent is a resident of San Felipe, the same barrio as the school. The interview dates were based on the availability of the responder and the parent’s statement. The researcher listened and gave no advice or personal experience to the interviewee. During the interview, the participant was permitted to have a support person.
The qualitative data have been transcribed and processed manually using thematic content analysis. The participant’s direct quotation and the relatives were utilized to finish the study procedure. The quotes are included in the analysis and relate to the topics of the research. The quotes were translated directly from Tagalog into English. The direct citation of the responses simplifies the analysis in order to generate consistent readings without distractions (Dlamini, 2016).
