Introduction  Teenage Pregnancy, Motherhood and Family Life  Introducing the Teenagers and their Significant Others How it Happened - Pregnancy Realisation and Disclosure  Through Pregnancy  Labour and Birth Narratives  'Chucked in the Deep End': Mothering in the Early Postnatal Period  Mothering in Early Childhood: Everyday Practices and Identity Formation Looking Back, and Looking Forward

This book explores the experiences of pregnant teenagers, their partners, and midwives, from pregnancy realisation through the early years of motherhood. It examines changing attitudes to female sexuality and moral discourses on adolescent subjectivity especially as these pertain to teenage motherhood.

HELEN STAPLETON is a Senior Research Fellow at the Australian Catholic University, Brisbane, Australia. A qualified midwife, she previously worked in both public and private sectors. Her research interests, and publications, focus on motherhood and parenting cultures, sexuality and reproduction, and body image and identity. Helen is a member of various professional organisations and a former board member of the Centre for the Study of Childhood and Youth, University of Sheffield, UK.