Maternidad adolescente y abandono escolar: una aproximación desde la subjetividad, el género y el curso de vida de un grupo de mujeres en Belén, Iquitos

Teenage pregnancy is considered to be a public health problem because of its high frequency, because it produces low levels of education for women, and because it contributes to the reproduction of poverty. In this respect, during the last fifteen years Loreto has presented the largest quantity of teenage mothers in the country. Belén, one of the districts of Iquitos, presents the highest number of teenage’ mothers, lowest education levels for women, and the highest poverty rate. Therefore, we seek to understand teenage pregnancy in relation to school dropout. To do that, we use the semi-structured interview, working images and empirical observations with the purpose of delving into those representations and the daily dynamics of the place of residence. We found women follow three different life courses resulting in school dropout, pregnancy and cohabitation: there are women who drop out from the school before they get pregnant, others who drop out before they start to cohabitate and those who drop out after they get pregnant.