Family Support and Teenage Pregnancy

The complexity of the phenomenon of pregnancy among adolescents requires an approach that involves aspects of guaranteeing rights, health, human development, and family relationships. This study aims to identify the perception of pregnant adolescents regarding the family support they receive from their families, in a public health service in the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista (SP-Brazil). Forty pregnant adolescents in prenatal care, aged from 14 to 17 years old, were interviewed, through the exploration of quantitative information, with the Family Support Perception Inventory and Adolescent Social Skills Inventory. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed. A total of 39 participants had a mean-low or low result for the mean total perception of family support, and one participant had a medium-high outcome. The younger adolescents, with lower educational level and who lived with their infants’ father, were the ones that had the lowest indices in the evaluation with the IPSF. The lowest rates for the IHSA assessment were found among 16- and 17-year-old participants, especially among those living with their babies’ parents. The interpersonal relationships, from the family context, should be addressed in the processes of prenatal care and pregnant adolescents’ follow-up by health care professionals and the social assistance sector.