Rise Where You Stumbled: Exploring the Phenomenon of Adolescent Parenting in the Philippines
Abstract
Objective: The study explored the lived experiences of adolescent parents in the Philippines and how they were able to transitioned from adolescence to young adulthood.
Materials and methods: It adopts a descriptive phenomenological approach exploring the parenting phenomenon experienced by purposively selected adolescent parents (n=24).
Results: Using an inductive thematic analysis of the content of the entire data set, the research identified one predominant theme: "Rise where you stumbled," along with four sub-themes of adolescent parenting experiences, namely, "a child turns our world upside down," "beating the odds," "in good company," and "our hope and joy."
Conclusion: This study presents a cautionary narrative for adolescent parents in comparable circumstances. It reveals its multifaceted challenges and opportunities for effectively navigating its dynamics, emphasizing the psychosocial factors that facilitated the desired behavior and the underlying motivations that drove their forced transition from adolescence to young adulthood.
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3. Sagili H, Pramya N, Prabhu K, Mascarenhas M, Reddi Rani P. Are teenage pregnancies at high risk? A comparison study in a developing country. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2012;285(3):573-7.
4. Shaikh S, Shaikh AH, Shaikh SA, Isran B. Frequency of obstructed labor in teenage pregnancy. Nepal Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2012;7(1):37-40.
5. Acharya DR, Bhattaria R, Poobalan AS, van Teijlingen E, Chapman GN. Factors associated with teenage pregnancy in South Asia: a systematic review. Health science journal. 2010;4(1):3-14.
6. Philippine Statistical Authority. Special Release: 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) Key Indicators: Teenage Pregnancy. https://rssocar.psa.gov.ph/content/special-release-2022-national-demographic-and-health-survey-ndhs-key-indicators-teenage. (Accessed 7 February 2003).
7. Dela Pena K. Numbers fall but PH teen pregnancies persist, mirror economic, learning gaps. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1723038/numbers-fall-but-ph-teen-pregnancies-persist-mirror-economic-learning-gaps. (Accessed 30 January 2023).
8. Hadley A. Teenage pregnancy: strategies for prevention. Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine. 2018;28(4):99-104.
9. Galabo N, Gempes GP. Teenage pregnancy in secondary schools: A multiple case study. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR). 2017;36(2):145-70.
10. Capanzana MV, Aguila DV, Javier CA, Mendoza TS, Santos-Abalos VM. Adolescent Pregnancy and the First 1000 Days (the Philippine Situation). Asia Pac
J Clin Nutr. 2015;24(4):759-66.
11. Ganchimeg T, Ota E, Morisaki N, Laopaiboon M, Lumbiganon P, Zhang J, WHO. Multicountry Survey on Maternal Newborn Health Research Network. Pregnancy and childbirth outcomes among adolescent mothers: a World Health Organization multicountry study. Int. J Gynaecol Obstet. 2014; 121: 40–48.
12. Weed K, Nicholson JS, Farris JR. Teen pregnancy and parenting: Rethinking the myths and misperceptions. Routledge; 2014.
13. Sawyer SM, Afifi RA, Bearinger LH, Blakemore SJ, Dick B, Ezeh AC, et al. Adolescence: a foundation for future health. Lancet. 2012;379(9826):1630-40.
14. Santos MI, Rosário F. A score for assessing the risk of first-time adolescent pregnancy. Fam Pract. 2011;28(5):482-8.
15. Deswinda D, Machmud R, Yusrawati Y, Indrapriyatna AS, Bayhakki B. Adolescent pregnancy prevention behavior in indonesia: Internal and external factors influencing. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2020;8(E):516-20.
16. Tabei K, Cuisia-Cruz ESS, Smith C, Seposo X. Association between Teenage Pregnancy and Family Factors: An Analysis of the Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey 2017. Healthcare (Basel). 2021;9(12):1720.
17. Olszewski L, Diaz A. Adolescent parenting: global perspective, local action. Annals of Global Health. 2019;85(1):62.
18. Owens R. discrimination towards young parents is a policy and practice issue. Children & Society. 2022; 36:1280–1295.
19. Istiqomah I. Positive negative affect and teen pregnancy. Proceedings Series on Social Sciences & Humanities. 2021;2:29-34.
20. Clarke J. It's not all doom and gloom for teenage mothers–exploring the factors that contribute to positive outcomes. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. 2015;20(4):470-84.
21. O’Brien Cherry C, Chumbler N, Bute J, Huff A. Building a “Better Life” the transformative effects of adolescent pregnancy and parenting. Sage Open. 2015;5(1):2158244015571638.
22. Seamark CJ, Lings P. Positive experiences of teenage
motherhood: a qualitative study. Br J Gen Pract. 2004;54(508):813-8.
23. Ricks N. The strengths perspective: Providing opportunities for teen parents and their families to succeed. Journal of family Strengths. 2016;15(1):11.
24. Mollborn S. Teenage Mothers Today: What We Know and How It Matters. Child Dev Perspect. 2017;11(1):63-69.
25. Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology. 2006;3(2):77-101.
26. Giorgi AP, Giorgi BM. Phenomenological psychology. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2008.
27. Giorgi, A. P., & Giorgi, B. M. (2003). The descriptive phenomenological psychological method. In P. M. Camic, J. E. Rhodes, & L. Yardley (Eds.), Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design (pp. 243–273). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10595-013 .
28. Van Manen M. Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for an Action Sensitive Pedagogy. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1997.
29. Van Manen M. Practicing phenomenological writing. Phenomenology+ pedagogy. 1984:36-69.
30. Arai L. What a difference a decade makes: Rethinking teenage pregnancy as a problem. Social policy and society. 2009;8(2):171-83.
31. Fivush R, Booker JA, Graci ME. Ongoing narrative meaning-making within events and across the life span. Imagination, Cognition and Personality. 2017;37(2):127-52.
32. Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology. 2006;3(2):77-101.
33. Bunting L, McAuley C. Research review: Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood: The Role of Fathers. Child Fam. Soc. Work. 2004. 9(3): 295–303.
34. Hancock Hoskins D. Consequences of parenting on adolescent outcomes. Societies. 2014;4(3):506-31.
35. Erikson EH. Autobiographic notes on the identity crisis. Daedalus. 1970;99:730-59.
36. Owens R. 'It's the way they look at you': Why discrimination towards young parents is a policy and practice issue. Children & Society. 2022;36(6):
1280-95.
37. Bommaraju A. Teenage Pregnancy, Parenting, and Intergenerational Relations. Sociology of Health & Illness. 2018; 40(6): 1106-1108.
38. Conn BM, de Figueiredo S, Sherer S, Mankerian M,
Iverson E. “Our lives aren't over”: A strengths-based perspective on stigma, discrimination, and coping among young parents. Journal of Adolescence. 2018;66:91-100.
39. Weed K, Nicholson JS, Farris JR. Teen pregnancy and parenting: Rethinking the myths and misperceptions. 1nd ed. London: Routledge, 2014.
40. Dion A, Klevor A, Nakajima A, Andersson N. “It is judgment by the people that have meant something to me that hurts the most”: Inter-discursive evidence synthesis incorporates the lived experience of adolescent mothers. 2019. 10.21203/rs.2.12956/v1. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340203362_It_is_judgment_by_the_people_that_have_meant_something_to_me_that_hurts_the_most_Inter-discursive_evidence_synthesis_incorporates_the_lived_experience_of_adolescent_mothers .
41. Ellis-Sloan K. Teenage mothers, stigma and their ‘presentations of self’. Sociological Research Online. 2014;19(1):16-28.
42. Sriyasak A, Almqvist A, Sridawruang C, Häggström‐Nordin E. Parents’ Experiences of their Teenage Children’s Parenthood: An interview study. Nurs. health sci. 2018; 20 (1): 39-45.
43. Barlow J, Smailagic N, Bennett C, Huband N, Jones H, Coren E. Individual and group based parenting programmes for improving psychosocial outcomes for teenage parents and their children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;2011(3):CD002964.
44. Sanborn J, Manze M, Watnick D. Parenting Students and Indicators of Financial Stability, Health, and Academic Success: Findings from a Population-Based Sample of Public Urban University Students. J Urban Health. 2024;101(2):371-382.
45. Dundar A, Tighe LA, Turner J. Underwater: Student Mothers and Fathers Struggle to Support Their Families and Pay off College Loans. Research Brief. Institute for Women's Policy Research. 2023.
46. Niznik A, Cornett A, Fletcher C. Juggling family and finances: The financial struggles and obligations of parenting students. Trellis Company. 2022.
47. Mercado LN. The Filipino Mind: Philippine Philosophical Studies. Washington DC: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 1994.
48. Cruz GT, Laguna EP, Mejia-Raymundo C. Family influences on the lifestyle of Filipino youth. 2001.
49. Fadul JA. Encyclopedia of theory & practice in psychotherapy & counseling. United Kingdom: Lulu. Com, 2014.
50. Malone JC, Liu SR, Vaillant GE, Rentz DM, Waldinger RJ. Midlife Eriksonian psychosocial development: Setting the stage for late-life cognitive and emotional health. Dev Psychol. 2016;52(3):496-508.
51. Maddox D. Navigating Teen Parenthood: Educational and Emotional Challenges and Supports. InParental Influence on Educational Success and Wellbeing. 2024: 336-355.
52. Fredrickson BL. The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Am Psychol. 2001;56(3):218-26.
53. Fredrickson B. Positivity: Groundbreaking research to
release your inner optimist and thrive. Simon and Schuster; 2010.
2. Kirchengast S. Teenage Pregnancies: A Worldwide Social and Medical. An analysis of contemporary social welfare issues. 2016:13.
3. Sagili H, Pramya N, Prabhu K, Mascarenhas M, Reddi Rani P. Are teenage pregnancies at high risk? A comparison study in a developing country. Arch Gynecol Obstet. 2012;285(3):573-7.
4. Shaikh S, Shaikh AH, Shaikh SA, Isran B. Frequency of obstructed labor in teenage pregnancy. Nepal Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology. 2012;7(1):37-40.
5. Acharya DR, Bhattaria R, Poobalan AS, van Teijlingen E, Chapman GN. Factors associated with teenage pregnancy in South Asia: a systematic review. Health science journal. 2010;4(1):3-14.
6. Philippine Statistical Authority. Special Release: 2022 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) Key Indicators: Teenage Pregnancy. https://rssocar.psa.gov.ph/content/special-release-2022-national-demographic-and-health-survey-ndhs-key-indicators-teenage. (Accessed 7 February 2003).
7. Dela Pena K. Numbers fall but PH teen pregnancies persist, mirror economic, learning gaps. https://newsinfo.inquirer.net/1723038/numbers-fall-but-ph-teen-pregnancies-persist-mirror-economic-learning-gaps. (Accessed 30 January 2023).
8. Hadley A. Teenage pregnancy: strategies for prevention. Obstetrics, Gynaecology & Reproductive Medicine. 2018;28(4):99-104.
9. Galabo N, Gempes GP. Teenage pregnancy in secondary schools: A multiple case study. International Journal of Sciences: Basic and Applied Research (IJSBAR). 2017;36(2):145-70.
10. Capanzana MV, Aguila DV, Javier CA, Mendoza TS, Santos-Abalos VM. Adolescent Pregnancy and the First 1000 Days (the Philippine Situation). Asia Pac
J Clin Nutr. 2015;24(4):759-66.
11. Ganchimeg T, Ota E, Morisaki N, Laopaiboon M, Lumbiganon P, Zhang J, WHO. Multicountry Survey on Maternal Newborn Health Research Network. Pregnancy and childbirth outcomes among adolescent mothers: a World Health Organization multicountry study. Int. J Gynaecol Obstet. 2014; 121: 40–48.
12. Weed K, Nicholson JS, Farris JR. Teen pregnancy and parenting: Rethinking the myths and misperceptions. Routledge; 2014.
13. Sawyer SM, Afifi RA, Bearinger LH, Blakemore SJ, Dick B, Ezeh AC, et al. Adolescence: a foundation for future health. Lancet. 2012;379(9826):1630-40.
14. Santos MI, Rosário F. A score for assessing the risk of first-time adolescent pregnancy. Fam Pract. 2011;28(5):482-8.
15. Deswinda D, Machmud R, Yusrawati Y, Indrapriyatna AS, Bayhakki B. Adolescent pregnancy prevention behavior in indonesia: Internal and external factors influencing. Open Access Macedonian Journal of Medical Sciences. 2020;8(E):516-20.
16. Tabei K, Cuisia-Cruz ESS, Smith C, Seposo X. Association between Teenage Pregnancy and Family Factors: An Analysis of the Philippine National Demographic and Health Survey 2017. Healthcare (Basel). 2021;9(12):1720.
17. Olszewski L, Diaz A. Adolescent parenting: global perspective, local action. Annals of Global Health. 2019;85(1):62.
18. Owens R. discrimination towards young parents is a policy and practice issue. Children & Society. 2022; 36:1280–1295.
19. Istiqomah I. Positive negative affect and teen pregnancy. Proceedings Series on Social Sciences & Humanities. 2021;2:29-34.
20. Clarke J. It's not all doom and gloom for teenage mothers–exploring the factors that contribute to positive outcomes. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth. 2015;20(4):470-84.
21. O’Brien Cherry C, Chumbler N, Bute J, Huff A. Building a “Better Life” the transformative effects of adolescent pregnancy and parenting. Sage Open. 2015;5(1):2158244015571638.
22. Seamark CJ, Lings P. Positive experiences of teenage
motherhood: a qualitative study. Br J Gen Pract. 2004;54(508):813-8.
23. Ricks N. The strengths perspective: Providing opportunities for teen parents and their families to succeed. Journal of family Strengths. 2016;15(1):11.
24. Mollborn S. Teenage Mothers Today: What We Know and How It Matters. Child Dev Perspect. 2017;11(1):63-69.
25. Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology. 2006;3(2):77-101.
26. Giorgi AP, Giorgi BM. Phenomenological psychology. The SAGE Handbook of Qualitative Research in Psychology, 2008.
27. Giorgi, A. P., & Giorgi, B. M. (2003). The descriptive phenomenological psychological method. In P. M. Camic, J. E. Rhodes, & L. Yardley (Eds.), Qualitative research in psychology: Expanding perspectives in methodology and design (pp. 243–273). American Psychological Association. https://doi.org/10.1037/10595-013 .
28. Van Manen M. Researching Lived Experience: Human Science for an Action Sensitive Pedagogy. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 1997.
29. Van Manen M. Practicing phenomenological writing. Phenomenology+ pedagogy. 1984:36-69.
30. Arai L. What a difference a decade makes: Rethinking teenage pregnancy as a problem. Social policy and society. 2009;8(2):171-83.
31. Fivush R, Booker JA, Graci ME. Ongoing narrative meaning-making within events and across the life span. Imagination, Cognition and Personality. 2017;37(2):127-52.
32. Braun V, Clarke V. Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative research in psychology. 2006;3(2):77-101.
33. Bunting L, McAuley C. Research review: Teenage Pregnancy and Parenthood: The Role of Fathers. Child Fam. Soc. Work. 2004. 9(3): 295–303.
34. Hancock Hoskins D. Consequences of parenting on adolescent outcomes. Societies. 2014;4(3):506-31.
35. Erikson EH. Autobiographic notes on the identity crisis. Daedalus. 1970;99:730-59.
36. Owens R. 'It's the way they look at you': Why discrimination towards young parents is a policy and practice issue. Children & Society. 2022;36(6):
1280-95.
37. Bommaraju A. Teenage Pregnancy, Parenting, and Intergenerational Relations. Sociology of Health & Illness. 2018; 40(6): 1106-1108.
38. Conn BM, de Figueiredo S, Sherer S, Mankerian M,
Iverson E. “Our lives aren't over”: A strengths-based perspective on stigma, discrimination, and coping among young parents. Journal of Adolescence. 2018;66:91-100.
39. Weed K, Nicholson JS, Farris JR. Teen pregnancy and parenting: Rethinking the myths and misperceptions. 1nd ed. London: Routledge, 2014.
40. Dion A, Klevor A, Nakajima A, Andersson N. “It is judgment by the people that have meant something to me that hurts the most”: Inter-discursive evidence synthesis incorporates the lived experience of adolescent mothers. 2019. 10.21203/rs.2.12956/v1. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/340203362_It_is_judgment_by_the_people_that_have_meant_something_to_me_that_hurts_the_most_Inter-discursive_evidence_synthesis_incorporates_the_lived_experience_of_adolescent_mothers .
41. Ellis-Sloan K. Teenage mothers, stigma and their ‘presentations of self’. Sociological Research Online. 2014;19(1):16-28.
42. Sriyasak A, Almqvist A, Sridawruang C, Häggström‐Nordin E. Parents’ Experiences of their Teenage Children’s Parenthood: An interview study. Nurs. health sci. 2018; 20 (1): 39-45.
43. Barlow J, Smailagic N, Bennett C, Huband N, Jones H, Coren E. Individual and group based parenting programmes for improving psychosocial outcomes for teenage parents and their children. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2011;2011(3):CD002964.
44. Sanborn J, Manze M, Watnick D. Parenting Students and Indicators of Financial Stability, Health, and Academic Success: Findings from a Population-Based Sample of Public Urban University Students. J Urban Health. 2024;101(2):371-382.
45. Dundar A, Tighe LA, Turner J. Underwater: Student Mothers and Fathers Struggle to Support Their Families and Pay off College Loans. Research Brief. Institute for Women's Policy Research. 2023.
46. Niznik A, Cornett A, Fletcher C. Juggling family and finances: The financial struggles and obligations of parenting students. Trellis Company. 2022.
47. Mercado LN. The Filipino Mind: Philippine Philosophical Studies. Washington DC: Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, 1994.
48. Cruz GT, Laguna EP, Mejia-Raymundo C. Family influences on the lifestyle of Filipino youth. 2001.
49. Fadul JA. Encyclopedia of theory & practice in psychotherapy & counseling. United Kingdom: Lulu. Com, 2014.
50. Malone JC, Liu SR, Vaillant GE, Rentz DM, Waldinger RJ. Midlife Eriksonian psychosocial development: Setting the stage for late-life cognitive and emotional health. Dev Psychol. 2016;52(3):496-508.
51. Maddox D. Navigating Teen Parenthood: Educational and Emotional Challenges and Supports. InParental Influence on Educational Success and Wellbeing. 2024: 336-355.
52. Fredrickson BL. The role of positive emotions in positive psychology. The broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions. Am Psychol. 2001;56(3):218-26.
53. Fredrickson B. Positivity: Groundbreaking research to
release your inner optimist and thrive. Simon and Schuster; 2010.
| Files | ||
| Issue | Vol 19, No 3 (September 2025) | |
| Section | Original Articles | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.18502/jfrh.v19i3.20057 | |
| Keywords | ||
| Adolescence Thematic Analysis Phenomenology Qualitative Psychology Adolescent Parenting | ||
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How to Cite
1.
Corotan C. Rise Where You Stumbled: Exploring the Phenomenon of Adolescent Parenting in the Philippines. J Family Reprod Health. 2025;19(3):193-207.
