Abstract
On becoming a teen mom examines the lives of 108 ethnically and racially diverse young mothers who were under the age of 20 when they gave birth to their first child. Erdmans and Black provide the narratives of the women’s experiences and critical events in their lives that lead to early motherhood. The book examines not only the life stories of these mothers but the impact various systems have on them. It addresses issues of child sexual abuse, gender violence, poverty, and racial and ethnic inequality in education. The focus is to determine the precursors of early childbirth and particularly the systemic oppression experienced by these young women.
Erdmans and Black begin each chapter with a mother’s narrative that captures the reader’s attention, providing a glimpse into each woman’s life. The authors provide a vivid account of the mothers’ experiences in such a way that the reader is able to feel compassion for their lived experiences. The systems of oppression that have let down these young mothers are critically analyzed in an effort to deflect from the common narrative of blaming young moms for their poor decisions and vilifying them and their children. These young mothers are often victims of accusations of draining the system and becoming a social problem. The authors use the women’s life stories to “show how structural inequalities shape a biography and to suggest that the best way to help teen mothers is to confront these larger inequalities” (p. 5).
The authors engage readers by providing the unique stories of the young mothers in their own words, illustrating their similar experiences of poverty, abuse, violence, and oppression. There is a fine balance in focusing on their harsh realities, yet highlighting the resilience of these young women. Many of them endured significant physical and emotional abuse, yet worked hard to provide a different and better life for their child and themselves. In many ways, the authors indicate that having a child at a young age provided a way to “start over” (p. 142).
The methodology includes an explanation of the life story method, the importance of matching interviewers by gender, race, and language and recognition of their own biases in their data analysis approach. Erdmans and Black acknowledge their own struggle with hearing the horrendous stories of violence, abuse, and rape and describe the overwhelming emotions they felt. They note, “people came before data” (p.232), which was extremely refreshing because researchers can be disconnected from the lived experiences of research participants.
This book informs social work policy and practice by bringing attention to issues facing young women including unintended pregnancies, early motherhood, gender violence, poverty, and inadequate education. The implications for social work policy and practice for teen mothers can be examined from the macro-, meso-, and microlevels. Additionally, this book could be helpful in courses that address the aforementioned content areas. As social workers, we need to address teen motherhood at all ecological system levels in order to support young women and On Becoming a Teen Mother can help us do so.