Professional Support and Care of Infants by Adolescent Mothers in England and the United States

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Abstract
This study investigated (a) whether teen-age mothers from two western nations, England and the United States, differed in the support they received from professionals during the postnatal period; and (b) whether differences in the way the two groups of mothers cared for their babies were associated with that professional support. Twenty-one English and 21 matched American mothers between 17 and 19 at the time of their babies' births, par ticipated, with their babies, in the study. Mothers were interviewed when the babies were 2½ to 3½ months old. Mothers and babies were observed in their homes at 3 to 3 ½ months post-40 weeks gestation. Results indicated that English mothers received more professional support and that they engaged in more smiling and eye contact, less frequent routine contact, and responded more quickly to their babies' crying than did American mothers. Evidence that professional support predicted maternal behavior after several other potential predictors were partialed out suggested that support had a beneficial effect on the care young mothers provided their babies. Evidence that partialing out professional support eliminated differences in behavior between English and American mothers suggested that national differences in maternal behavior were likely mediated through professional support.