Motherhood and the Behavioral Patterns

CHAPTER I THE PROBLEMS AND ITS SCOPE Introduction Our society today is focusing on a very problem regarding early motherhood. The primary cause of early motherhood is premarital sex. Sexual intercourse nowadays is very common and an open topic between lovers, friends, parents and their children especially in the third world countries such as the US and UK, and also in school. Parents are the ones who would advise their children not to engage in premarital sex as much as possible but if ever it’s an open subject to them, they should advise their children not to forget their condoms or even have their Depovella injection. Our country, Philippines, is not considered a first-world country but since we are westernized, this topic has been open to us. Teenagers and young adults who are not married are already engaging in premarital sex thus becoming young mothers. Premarital sex is not just the one involve here but also the different vices that women are engaged in. different vices such as drinking alcohol and taking drugs will also lead to early motherhood. Many factors are involved in becoming young mothers. These factors may push an adolescent or teenagers to engage in premarital sex and become pregnant. Being pregnant at an early age has different risks. It’s not just the mother that is at risk but also the baby inside the womb. And after giving birth, women at early age still do not know the responsibilities of being a mother in order for the baby to live happily and healthy. Background of the Study Most women today are engaging in pre-marital sex and some of them do not know much on how to protect them from getting pregnant. It’s really sad that when young women are already pregnant, their primary option is to abort the baby inside them. I my opinion, you can’t correct a mistake by committing another mistake. Getting pregnant at an early age is not the baby’s fault; it’s the one making or engaging on pre-marital sex who are to be blamed. Abortion is not just a sin to us humans but most of all to God. Statistics show that a report by Save the Children found that, annually, 13 million children are born to women under age 20 worldwide. Worldwide, rates of teenage pregnancy range from 143 per 1000 in some sub-Saharan African countries to 2. 9 per 1000 in South Korea. Fertility rates in South Asia ange from 71 to 119 births per 1000 women aged 15–19. 30% of all Indian induced abortions are performed on women who are under 20. In the Philippines, according to the 2002 Young Adult Fertility and Sexuality Study by the University of the Philippines Population Institute (UPPI) and the Demographic Research and Development Foundation, 26 percent of our Filipino youth nationwide from ages 15 to 25 admi tted to having a premarital sex experience. What’s worse is that 38 percent of our youth are already in a live-in arrangement. The 1998 National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) reveal that 3. million of our teenagers got pregnant. In 92 percent of these teens, the pregnancy was unplanned, and the majority, 78 percent, did not even use contraceptives the first time they had sex. Many of the youth are clueless that even on a single intercourse, they could get pregnant. Being a mother at an early age is a very difficult part to handle because at this point most likely they are not yet finished in their studies and having not graduated from college is very difficult to find noble jobs to sustain a family or the baby’s needs. Even if you have a partner, the father of the child is helping; it still doesn’t change the fact that the nether has the responsibility of taking care of the baby. In this study, we shall discuss the different impacts of being a mother at an early age in relation to their behavioral processes. We shall discuss how early motherhood affects their five (5) aspects: physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually and socially. We shall also discuss the factors that pushed teenagers and young adults to engage in pre-marital sex. A thorough study, research and interview will be done. Statement of the Problem The prime objective the study is to know how the behavioral processes of women are affected by early motherhood. Null Hypothesis There is no significant relationship between women engaged in premarital sex and their experience as early mothers. There is no significant relationship between women engaged in different vices and their experience as early mothers. There is no significant relationship between women with family problems and their experience as early mothers. There is no significant relationship between different forms of media and women experiencing early motherhood. Significance of the Study To the young women This study will enable them to understand the importance of being a mother if they are still young. If they would really absorb the findings of this research paper, they will be more careful in handling themselves in relation to premarital sex. If they are mothers already, their knowledge about handling and understanding their baby’s needs will be broadened. To the Parents This study will enable them to be more alert and responsible in educating their children towards sex. Parents would learn something from the findings the importance of teaching their children the responsibility of being a mother to their baby. To the Government From this study, they will be encouraged to plan and organize programs for the benefit of the teenagers of today to be more careful in having an intimate relationship towards the opposite sex. They should also do something about the problems on widespread porno websites that even an eight year old kid who knows how to operate the computer can access. To the School Administration This study will enable them to be more practical and open in education of sex towards the students. Scope and Limitations of the Study This research focused on the behavioral processes and factors of women experiencing early motherhood. This study includes a number of fifteen (15) young women, their age ranging from 16 to 25 years old, residing near us and they are even our friends. Questionnaires were given for them to answer. Definition of Terms Mother – a female parent; especially, one of human race; a woman who has given birth to a child. Motherhood – the state of being a mother; the qualities of a mother; the kinship relationship between an offspring and the mother. Behavior – manner of acting or conducting yourself; the aggregate of the response or reactions or movements made by an organism in any situation. Process – the performance of some composite cognitive activity; an operation that affects mental contents; a series of actions, motions, or occurrences. Behavioral Processes – the manner of acting or conducting yourself towards a series of actions, motions, or occurrences. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES Related Literature Buergo, Ramon H. â€Å"Teenage Pregnancy†. Healthbeat. The official Publication of the DOH. Issue #53. March-June 2009. This article talks about the reasons and repercussions of being pregnant at an early age, that a lot of young people today have children of their own and the Philippines is not far from this situation. Globally, there are 1. 2 billion youth today. In the Philippines, the total population is 88. 7 million, of which, 27. 3 million (31%) belongs to the 15-24 year old population. By age 17, a total of 7% of young women have been pregnant; by age 18, 11. 9% have been pregnant; and by age 19, 23. 5% have been pregnant. Majority of these pregnancies are out of wedlock and teenage pregnancy is higher among young girls with premarital sex experience. Imagine how sad to know the percentage of these young women in the Philippines is in this situation. Many reasons are involved in this kind of situation. These reasons are of women living away from home, smoking, drinking and using drugs. These risky behaviors may put many young women at risk of teenage pregnancy and thus become early mothers. Many young women got pregnant even for the first time women engaging in sex because they do not know about contraception and they do not know the fertile period of their menstrual cycle. The consequences of what they are doing are still unknown by them. These consequences involve the risk for malnutrition, risk for inadequate prenatal care, and risk for fetal deaths, risk for abortion, and risk for acquiring cervical cancer. These could be avoided if there is proper education to the young ones of today. There should be the responsibility and obligations from the parents, government, and schools. Related Studies Mother is synonymous with responsibility(service), opportunity(special membership in the home), and accountability(day-to-day molding of children’s character and future). Being a mother is having great love to your child whether you are young or not. According to Nestor Casugan Rillona, Th. D. , a loving mother is patient; a loving mother does not push her children into doing things he way; a loving mother is not relieved when her disagreeable child finally disobeys her directly and she can punish; a loving mother bears much of the responsibility for her children; and a loving mother never really dies. A research was made about a myth that a women’s ability to think was impaired by pregnancy and mothering a new born – this condition was referred to as â€Å"baby brain† and they have discredit it. An Australian National University team conducted a 20-year study on health and ageing analyzed the mental function of a group of women before and during pregnancy and in the early stages of motherhood. They didn’t find any difference between the women before and after pregnancy, or before and after motherhood, and there were no difference between the non-mothers and the mothers, and the pregnant women. These women that they used as subjects were given memory and cognitive speed tests three times over eight years which tracks their mental health. The subjects were not told that they are into a pregnancy study when they signed up. The study had found some limited impact on cognitive speed in late pregnancy and the result showed that carrying a baby had no permanent effects on a woman’s mental function. It was found out that â€Å"baby brain† is not inevitable and the perceptions of impairment may reflect emotional or other unknown factors. The attitude of adolescents towards sex is a behavior motivation. The sex behavior of the young has become a problem, not only to themselves but more so to parents, school, people, religious leaders, civic associations, and the government. There is a current need to make our growing girls and boys understand sex and the role it plays in an individual’s life as well as the development of wholesome and desirable sex behavior. Sex is a collective word signifying one of the two divisions of any organism, the male or female and which involves distinction between the two and the relationship of one to the other. Most people today realize the need for sex education, but there is a problem as to when, what and how of sex education. Sex education is not a matter of teaching but it is rather a matter of training, which parents are the best qualified to give. CHAPTER III DATA PRESENTATION, INTERPRETATION AND ANALYSIS Profile Presentation Respondents Name Address Age at Pregnancy Age at Present Ritchie Ley Terez P-1, Lower Loboc, 20 yrs. Old 21 yrs. old Oroquieta City Kristy Muriedas Pob. 1, Oroq. City 17 yrs. Old 21 yrs. Old Princess Amyfe Aguilar Layawan, Oroq. City 16 yrs. Old 17 yrs. Old Elvie Eleanor Caliao Pob. 1, Oroq. City 24 yrs. Old 25 yrs. Old Q’lydFrances Morales Pob. 1, Oroq. City 19 yrs. old 22 yrs. Old Airah Sala P-1, Lower Loboc, 24 yrs. old 25 yrs. old Oroquieta City Rubelyn Batoy Pob. 1, Oroq. City 19 yrs. Old 24 yrs. Old Charity Omandam P-1, Lower Loboc 16 yrs. Old 17 yrs. Old Oroquieta City Arlyn Sepe Rizal St. , Oroq. City 23 yrs. Old 27 yrs. Old Lady Faith Ingcong Rizal St. , Oroq. City 18 yrs. Old 19 yrs. Old Janice Cotales Lopez Jaena, Mis. Occ. 19 yrs. Old 24 yrs. Old Charilyn Gemina Lopez Jaena, Mis. Occ. 18 yrs. Old 22 yrs. Old Reley Gumisong Bunga, Oroq. City 17 yrs. Old 18 yrs. Old Ma. Malyn Ortizo Bunga, Oroq. City 16 yrs. Old 18 yrs. Old Cielo Mae Gabule Pob. 2, Oroq. City 18 yrs. Old 20 yrs. Old Statistics Presentation January – 8 May- 5 September – 14 February – 11 June – 21 October – 10 March – 1 July – 15 November – 3 April – 6 August – 5 December – 12 {draw:frame} Interpretation of Data *Anal*ysis There are 15 respondents who answered yes which is equivalent to 100% which means that being a mother at an early age you have to commit yourself and your time wholly o your baby. There are 12 respondents who answered yes which is equivalent to 80% and 3 respondents who answered no which is equivalent to 20% meaning majority of the respondents education were affected by early pregnancy and most of them didn’t finish their schooling. There are 4 respondents who answered yes which is equivalent to 27% and 11 respondents who answered no which is equivalent to 73% and it means that majority of the respondents are God-fearing and considered the welfare and life of her baby. There are 3 respondents who answered yes which is equivalent to 20% and 12 respondents who answered no which is equivalent to 80% and it means that most of them didn’t expect that they’ll be a mother at an early age. There are 15 respondents who answered yes which is equivalent to 100% which means that all of the respondents changed a lot on their attitude towards patience to their baby and other things. There are 13 respondents who answered yes which is equivalent to 87% and 2 respondents who answered no which is equivalent to 13% and it means that most them considered motherhood as an obligation; that the welfare of their child lies on their hands. There are 8 respondents who answered yes which is equivalent to 53% and 7 respondents who answered no which is equivalent to 47% and in this question the respondents are divided in according to their emotions whether they are stable or not. There are 14 respondents who answered yes which is equivalent to 93% and 1 respondents who answered no which is equivalent to 7% and it means that almost all of the respondents’ social life is affected in the sense that they already have the responsibility to take care of. There are 5 women who answered yes and 10 answered no which means that some of women have regrets and some are happy for having child. There are 11 women who answered yes and 4 answered no which means that they have the confident that they have to raise their child with the full development of all 5 aspects. There 12 women who answered yes and 3 answered no which means that most of them want marriage. There are 13 women who answered yes and 2 answered no which means that love is the reason that motivates them to engage in premarital sex and they don’t have control that is why they got pregnant not at the right age. There are 2 women who answered yes and 13 answered no which means that they have the feelings of hatred after giving birth maybe in what happened they can’t accept. There are 2 women who answered yes and 13 answered no which means that some of their parents hurt them maybe the parents will not accept in what happened to their daughter for having a pregnant at early age. There are 8 women who answered yes and 7 answered no which means that their self-esteem lowered during pregnancy. Graph Presentation There are 100% who answered yes in question no. 1 in which there lifestyle change when they become mothers. draw:frame} There are 80% who answered yes and 80% who answered no in which their education was affected by early motherhood. {draw:frame} There are 27% who answered yes and 73% who answered no in which the majority of the respondents are God-fearing and considered the welfare of the child. {draw:frame} There are 80% who answered yes and 20% who answered no in which the majo rity of the respondents are expecting or planning to be a mother soon. {draw:frame} There are 100% who answered yes wherein the respondents have become more patient when they become mothers. draw:frame} There are 87% who answered yes and 13% who answered no in which the majority of the respondents considered motherhood as an obligation. {draw:frame} There are 53% who answered yes and 47% who answered no in which the respondents are almost divided in half in the question of being emotionally stable or not. {draw:frame} There are 93% who answered yes and 7% who answered no in which almost all of the respondents’ social life are affected when they become mothers. draw:frame} There are 33% who answered yes and 67% who answered no in which the majority of the respondents didn’t have regrets in getting pregnant at an early age. {draw:frame} There are 73% who answered yes and 27% who answered no in which the respondents are confident in developing the five aspects of their ch ild. {draw:frame} There are 80% who answered yes and 20% who answered no in which the majority of the respondents gave importance to marriage. draw:frame} There are 87% who answered yes and 13% who answered no in which the respondents are motivated by love when they had sex. {draw:frame} There are 13% who answered yes and 87% who answered no in which the respondents didn’t feel regret in having a child at an early age. {draw:frame} There are 13% who answered yes and 87% who answered no in which some of the respondents were hurt physically and morally by their parents upon learning that they are pregnant. draw:frame} There are 53% who answered yes and 47% who answered no in which they are divided almost half towards the lowering of their self-esteem. {draw:frame} CHAPTER IV RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODOLOGY Research Design This research utilized narrative survey method to gather all fats and data concerning the behavioral processes of women experiencing early motherhood. The met hod utilized further to look into the profile in terms of age, location, and behavioral patterns. Research Setting This research was conducted in the house of the respondents in Lower Loboc, Pob. 1, and Lopez Jaena. Research Respondents The study utilized 15 women ages 16 to 25 years old. Research Instrument Utilized This research utilized questionnaires to gather all data and investigation concerning their behavioral process. Data Gathering Procedure We, the researchers asked the permission of the respondents. After the permission, the researchers asked about their profile and there was the submission of profile to the adviser. Questionnaires have been given to the respondents for them to answer. The data gathered in this study were analyzed with the aid of the following questions. METHODOLOGY CHAPTER V SUMMARY, CONCLUSION, RECOMMENDATIONS Summary The study deals with early motherhood and how it affects their behavioral patterns in terms emotional, physical, spiritual, mental and social aspects. Being a mother at an early age is not just a problem here in the Philippines but all over the world. It is a question of how you will be able to raise your child when you are not yet finish schooling, you don’t have stable jobs to have an income to support the child’s needs. You don’t have the idea how to raise a child when in fact you’re still a child inside. Motherhood means having the qualities of a mother and as for this statement a woman with a child should be loving, caring, responsible, patient, understanding, and merciful, etc. Having all these qualities of a mother should start from the first day of conception up to the day you die. Motherhood is lifetime commitment. It doesn’t end when your child goes to school or have family of their own. We the researchers were able to gather data and wereable to interpret and analyze them with the best. CONCLUSION After conducting the study entitled; Early Motherhood, the researchershave come up into a conclusions that there is no significant relationship between engaging in different vices and women early mother not just because you don’t have enough knowledge about it and aside from that the baby will burden the consequences and in effect, it leads to poor family upbringing. There is no significant relationship between women experiencing early motherhood and premarital sex. Because you are not at the right age and at the right time. Engaging premarital sex is not allowed in the church especially in the catholic faith. RECOMMENDATIONS The case of early motherhood is increasing year after year because of the widespread of all forms of media. The television, radio, newspapers and internets contains things not suitable for minors and these can be easily accessed, seen, heard, read by ages from 7 up who are able to read and write. These widespread medals should be restricted by the governments, parents, and the schools. The education of sex and everything should start at home by the parents. Parents should educate their children as early as possible as long as they already understand. Sex education is not just about mating but introducing first reproductive organs. An example is that parents should say to their until child the correct name of their genital organs like this not a â€Å"flower† or a â€Å"bridge† but it is your vagina or penis and you have to take care of them until you grow up. When watching televisions, parents should guide their children of what they are watching. The government should widen the campaign for sex education among you’ve women. They should implement programs on making the youth understand the importance of education before entering motherhood. They should also do something about the internet sites that even a 1st grader can access. The school administration should include sex education in all curriculums in high school or college. It should be well explained to the students the importance of finishing school and have stable job before having a baby. There should be counseling about having intimate relationships towards the opposite sex. As to the young women, they should have discipline in taking care of their honor and dignity. They should never engage in premarital sex if possible so to avoid pregnancy. If they can’t avoid engaging in premarital sex, they should know the different kinds of contraception. BIBLIOGRAPHY Rilloma, Nestor C. â€Å"Mandate of Motherhood†. Health and Home, May-June 2003. Buergo, Ramon H. â€Å"Reasons and Repercussions. Teenage Pregnancy†. Healthbeat. Issue No. 53. The Official Publication of DOH, March-June 2009. â€Å"Australian researchers put paid to â€Å"baby brain† myth†. Psychology and Psychiatry. Psyorg. com. 5 Feb 2010. http://www. physorg. com/news184570915. html Singson, Rebecca B. â€Å"Teen Pregnancies in the Philippines†. Philippine Daily Inquirer. 14 June 2010. http://ardictionary. com/Mother/7320 http://thefreedictionary. com/motherhood