Transition to motherhood in adolescents and levels of intensity of need for care

Transition to motherhood evidence has primarily been generated by studies completed with Caucasian middle class married women, however over one third of current US births are to single, unmarried women. The purposes of this study were to: 1) examine the transition to motherhood experience in 18 adolescents who are in the developmental period of middle adolescence (15 to 17 years) and 2) determine their intensity of need for public health nursing (PHN) care during the prenatal phase of the transition. A descriptive, mixed methods design was implemented. A model-directed content analysis was used to categorize the shared themes that emerged from qualitative data. These themes indicated specific transition assets and risks for the pregnant teens. To determine the intensity of need for care scores, the Community Health Intensity Rating Scale (CHIRS) was used. CHIRS total scores (0-60) ranged from a low of 20 to a high of 39, with x°¥ of 30 indicating a higher intensity of need for PHN care than might be expected during a healthy life period. Implications for research include intervention studies that focus on successful transitions. Practice implication include including outreach to pregnant teens with transition and intensity of need for PHN care as assessment parameters.