Table 1.

Details of studies in this review.

Authors (Year)	Country	Aim of the study	Design and methods	Sample and settings	Key findings	Quality score
Mohammadi N et al. (2016) [9]	Iran	To explore the experience of pregnancy in Iranian teenage women	An interpretive phenomenological study In-depth interviews	11 adolescent mothers aged 15–17 years Primary Health Care Centre	•Fast development •Dual self-perception •positive self- perception on becoming pregnant, •negative self- perception such as feeling doubt to manage responsibilities as mothers	High
Ngum Chi Watts M et al. (2015) [10]	Australia	To solicit lived experiences of African Australian young refugee women who had experienced early motherhood in Australia	Qualitative study In-depth interview	16 African Australian teenagers who had refugee backgrounds Community setting	•Mixed feelings and experiences, positive feelings: sense of maturity and responsibility, •Complete their school education, •Social economy strain, •Feeling stress and regret, •Family support, support from friends and wide community	High
Mangeli M et al. (2017) [12]	Iran	To explore the challenges encountered by Iranian adolescent mothers during the transition to motherhood	Qualitative study In-depth interviews	16 adolescent within ages of 14–18 at the time of childbirth Community setting	•Increasing burden of responsibility •Experiencing physical problems, •Receiving insufficient support, •Inefficiency in maternal role, •Emotional and mental distress; •Role conflict	High
Sheeran N et al. (2016) [13]	Australia	To explicate the experience of being a mother for adolescent women who experienced a preterm or term birth in Australia.	Interpretative phenomenological study Individual guided interview	14 primiparous women aged 15–19 years Four hospitals (both regional and metropolitan) southeast Queensland	•Birth status did not meaningfully differentiate on being a mother •Transforming to be good mother	High
Copeland R et al. (2017) [15]	Costa Rica	To gain a better understanding of the lived experiences of mothers, as well as the kinds of support they received during and after the pregnancy	Qualitative study Semi-structured interviews Case study	22 women who had become pregnant in adolescence (before the age of 18 years) Primipara and multipara Community setting	•Family support was the most important factor in mitigating adolescent experiences of stress •Feeling positive towards baby •Negative feeling about their choices related to the pregnancy	High
Malette J et al. (2015) [16]	USA	To explain the relationships between prenatal and post birth father involvement, inter-parental relationship quality, and maternal identity.	Cross-sectional study Questionnaire of prenatal father involvement Inter-parental relationship Quality Maternal identity	125 mothers aged from 14 to 19 years School based program for adolescent parent from 32 schools in Ohio.	•Father's involvement associated with adolescent mothers' maternal identity	Average
Sheeran N et al. (2015) [17]	Australia	To understanding of the daily experience of being a young mother for Australian young women who had preterm infants	Qualitative interpretive phenomenological Individual guided interview	14 primiparous women aged 15–19 years Four hospitals (both regional and metropolitan) southeast Queensland	•Joy and delight: Love their infant •Infant need and behaviors •Emotional rollercoaster and lack of embodied interaction with preterm birth because of “absence of baby” •Economy strain •Social support	High
Harrison ME et al. (2017) [18]	Canada	To share pregnant and parenting youths' experiences with health care to inform recommendations for promoting youth- friendly medical encounters	Qualitative descriptive study Focus group discussion	26 mothers aged 19 years or younger 3 sites Pregnant and parenting youth in community	•Negative and positive health care encounters	High
Hunter L et al. (2015) [19]	UK	To explore how the inpatient experiences of a group of young women who gave birth as teenagers influenced their feeding decisions and experiences, and ascertain their ideals for breastfeeding support	Qualitative study Focus group discussion	15 women aged 16–20 years Community setting in Oxfordshire	•Feeling tired after birth, •Need relation support •Discomfort	High
Gyesaw N et al. (2013) [24]	Ghana	To explores the experiences of adolescent mothers during pregnancy, childbirth, and care of their newborns	Qualitative study In-depth interviews Focus group discussions	54 teenage mothers aged 14–19 years Primipara Facility and community level	•Reasons for becoming pregnant, •Caring for baby •Physical problem (Pain after birth)	High
Salusky I et al. (2013) [25]	Dominican Republic	To understand the experience of becoming a mother at an early age in a group of marginal young women	Qualitative study Semi-structured interviews	21 young mothers who became pregnant before aged 18 years. Two areas located in community: Urban and isolated	•Motivational forces resulting in early motherhood (partner and educational barriers) •Feelings surrounding pregnancy and childbirth (mixed emotions) •Motherhood was a mark of pride •Challenges of economic and educational attainment •Unconditional love for baby	High
Wilson-Mitchell et al. (2014) [26]	Jamaica	To explore the experiences and impact of pregnancy on pregnant adolescents' psychological health	Mixed method Individual interview, focus group interviews	30 pregnant adolescent 16 years and older Primipara Two hospital held a “Teen-centred” clinic and a standard antenatal clinic.	•Social support from family, partner and friend •Community support system •Psychological distress •Positive and negative perceptions of health services	High
Klingberg-Allvin et al. (2008) [27]	Vietnam	To explores married Vietnamese adolescents' perceptions and experiences related to transition into motherhood and their encounter with health care service	Qualitative study In-depth interviews	22 women younger than 20 who were either pregnant or had newly delivered The Commune Health Centre (CHC)	•Ambivalence in the transition to motherhood •Support from husband and extended family •Lacking power with regard to decisions in relation to pregnancy, delivery, and contraceptive usage	High
DeVito J. (2010) [28]	USA	To explore and better understand first-time adolescent mothers' meanings and experiences of parenting during the 4-to-6 week postpartum period	Qualitative study Individual interview with open-ended	126 adolescent mothers Four postpartum clinical sites	•Struggle with between their development and being new mother, isolation and despair to maternal role, growing up	Average
Roberts S et al. (2011) [29]	Australia	To explore the lived experiences and social context prior to becoming pregnant, of women who became mothers during adolescence in rural Victoria	Qualitative interpretive phenomenological In-depth semi-structured interviews	Four mothers aged between 16 and 20 years Rural North East Victoria	•Feeling isolated, •Feeling dissatisfied •Life change: Transition into adulthood •understanding in sexual relationship	Average
Wahn E et al.(2005) [30]	Sweden	To describe the perspectives, experiences, and reasoning about becoming and being a teenage mother by Swedish teenage girls.	Qualitative study Individual interview	20 pregnant and parenting girl aged 15–19 years Urban, rural and suburban district	•Becoming teenage mother (Social economy problem, family pattern) •Positive transition (feel maturity) •Supportive relationship (relevant support from families, friends and society)	High
Ngai FW et al. (2015) [35]	Hong Kong	To explore Chinese women's perceptions of maternal role competence and factors contributing to maternal role competence during early motherhood.	Exploratory descriptive study Semi-structured interviews	26 mothers at six weeks postpartum aged 18 years or above Home visit	•Lack knowledge and experiences of infant care •Social support •Contradictory information •Commitment to caring for physical and emotional well-being of child	High
DeVito J. (2007) [36]	USA	To investigate factors that may contribute to self-perceptions of parenting in adolescent mothers during the 4- to 6-week post-partum period	Descriptive correlational design The Norbeck social support Questionnaire (NSSQ) The what being the parent of a baby is like-revised instrument	126 adolescent mothers under 20 years of age, 4–6 weeks postpartum Four sites in New Jersey	•Social support from her mother and the baby's father. •Education attainment in the future	High