Professionals' perceptions of 'young' in young motherhood

Young motherhood is a recurring issue in media and societal discourse in the Netherlands, in which a vicious circle of deprivation seems to be a dominant image. Dutch welfare and education organisations work towards preventing... [ view full abstract ]

Young motherhood is a recurring issue in media and societal discourse in the Netherlands, in which a vicious circle of deprivation seems to be a dominant image. Dutch welfare and education organisations work towards preventing young motherhood or supporting young mothers to participate in society. This paper is based on a study on agency of young mothers in Parkstad Limburg in the southernmost province in the Netherlands, where, relatively, many young mothers live, even though the region is experiencing demographic shrinking by means of an ageing population and emigration of young people. This paper takes the perspective of social work professionals, because young mothers frequently come into contact with them. The main question is how do professionals in welfare and education organisations in Parkstad Limburg in the Netherlands perceive the concept of ‘young’ in the context of young motherhood in their work settings? The aim is to deconstruct the concept of ‘young’ in young motherhood and show underlying views in a professional context. Research methods are literature study and in-depth interviews with 11 social work professionals of welfare, education and expert organisations that are based in Parkstad Limburg. The paper shows which notions of young prevail in professional contexts. It furthermore shows that the notion of ‘young’ in young motherhood is not a matter of absolute age and is subject to contextual understanding. Moreover, professionals’ notions of ‘young’ in young motherhood are an outcome of professional negotiations, based on what professionals perceive as vulnerability. They aim to improve young mothers’ vulnerability, but through their interventions the professionals maintain an image of young mothers’ lack of agency. In the paper the professionals’ perceptions are deconstructed and discussed.