Lived Experiences of Teenage Mothers in Calbayog City: Basis For Intervention Program

AUTHOR(S)

DONATO M. ALBELDA, JR.

ABSTRACT

—— This study examined the lived experiences of teenage mothers in Calbayog City, Samar and the support they received from different stakeholders. The researcher focused on how these young women perceive and make sense of the factors that contributed to their pregnancy and the support systems and interventions these young women identify as most meaningful based on their lived experiences. A qualitative phenomenological research design, specifically the descriptive phenomenological approach was employed involving ten participants who undergone protocol in the interview process. Data were processed and analyzed using Braun and Clarke’s six phase thematic analysis, adapted within the philosophical framework of descriptive phenomenology to ensure consistency with the overall research design. Findings revealed that in terms of the lived experience of the teenage mothers, three themes collectively present a coherent and multi-layered phenomenological portrait of the lived experiences of teenage mothers in Calbayog City. The narratives of the participants confirm that the reviewed literature consistently demonstrates: that teenage pregnancy is not a product of individual failure but of converging systematic vulnerabilities – including absent or inadequate family communication, peer normalization of early relationships, economic deprivation, and limited access to reproductive health information. In terms of the factors of their pregnancies, three themes that emerged from participants accounts of the factors contributing to their pregnancy collectively affirm that teenage pregnancy in Calbayog City is a structurally produced phenomenon, not one reducible to individual decision-making or moral failure. The convergence of absent family communication, peer normalization, reproductive health ignorance, and household poverty created an environment in which adolescent girls were left profoundly exposed to early pregnancy with little knowledge, few protective relationships, and no meaningful institutional safeguard. In terms of support system and intervention identified, three themes that emerged from participants identification of their most meaningful support systems and interventions collectively affirm that effective intervention for teenage mothers in Calbayog City must be simultaneously relational, institutional, and aspirational. In conclusion, the lived experiences of teenage mothers in Calbayog City are characterized by profound emotional distress, social stigma, interrupted education, and economic hardship, yet simultaneously marked by resilience and a transformative sense of maternal purpose. Teenage pregnancy among young women in Calbayog City is not attributable to a single cause but rather emerges from the convergence of individual, relational, familial, and socio-environmental factors. The support systems and interventions that teenage mothers identify as most meaningful are those grounded in dignity, non-judgment, and holistic assistance that simultaneously addresses their emotional, economic, and health needs. Keywords: Teenage pregnancies, Lived Experiences, Factors of Pregnancies, Support Systems, Interventions