Motherhood in Adolescence: A Qualitative Study of the Lived Experience of Participants in a Perinatal Home-Visiting Intervention

Background Adolescent motherhood represents a complex period of identity restructuring, characterized by negotiation of self-perception and the balancing of a new caregiving role. As a developmental stage, it can be complicated by a lack of preparedness, social stigma, absence of partner support, school dropout, loneliness, and emotional distress. Aiming to inform more developmentally attuned interventions, we explored the lived experience of adolescent mothers who participated in a perinatal home-visiting program. Methods We recruited 72 adolescents, aged 14–19, from low-income neighborhoods in São Paulo, Brazil. Most identified as Black or Brown and all were experiencing their first pregnancy. They took part in Primeiros Laços (“First Ties”), a nurse-led program that provides psychosocial support from pregnancy through the child’s second year. We enrolled participants into a qualitative study based on open-ended interviews during pregnancy and again at 3, 12, and 24 months postpartum, totaling 223 interviews. Using thematic analysis informed by phenomenology, we examined how their lived experiences changed over time. Results We identified five experiential domains: (1) Reactions to the Discovery of Pregnancy , marked by ambivalence and conflicting emotions, including those elicited by social stigma; (2) Changes Experiencing the Body , with adolescents experiencing their bodies as intensely present, sometimes expressing emotional suffering through physical sensations; (3) Forming a Maternal Identity , with a reshaping of prior adolescent roles into an emerging maternal persona; (4) Transformations in the Experience of Time , encompassing future-oriented aspirations and or a desire to hold onto the present; and (5) Reframing Relationships around the child, who became a central source of meaning and emotional reciprocity. Conclusions Our findings highlight how existential structures of temporality, embodiment, identity, and intersubjectivity shape the lived reality of adolescent motherhood. Pregnancy and early caregiving intensified bodily awareness and restructured temporal horizons, with some adolescents experiencing an expansion of future possibilities and others a sense of paralysis. Relationships were reorganized around the child as a new experiential center. These insights suggest that psychosocial interventions should be attentive to moments when the future feels overwhelming, provide clear, non-objectifying information, and support continuity in care. A non-judgmental stance that respects each mother’s values while gradually broadening life horizons can help strengthen maternal competencies and expand possibilities beyond caregiving.