Emotional well-being in adolescent and adult mothers during pregnancy and after childbirth

The emotional well-being in 153 adolescent pregnant women, under 19 years of age, and in 843 adults over 19 years of age was measured during pregnancy and at 6 weeks after childbirth. All participating women completed self-report questionnaires at both time periods and were recruited from Bratislava as a part of the European Longitudinal Study of Pregnancy. The emotional state was measured by the Crown-Crisp Experimental Index (CCEI) and by the Edinburg Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS). In our study we found: 1) during pregnancy no differences between adolescent and adult mothers in both scares. 2) after childbirth the decrease of CCEI score in both groups of mothers and decrease of EPDS score in adolescents only. 3) a positive relationship between well-being measures during pregnancy and after childbirth in both groups. Our results show the continuity in women's mood from pregnancy to the postpartum period in all mothers and the potential of adolescents to better master the situation of being a mother than the adults.