ABSTRACT
The experience of being a mother represents a major developmental transition for all women, regardless of age. It is a time of new demands and challenges that lead to changes in values, attitudes, and behaviors that have an enduring impact on the future life course. In the field of adolescent pregnancy, there is a notable lack of consensus within the ranks of medical professionals and social scientists on the meaning of most of the terms that are in common use. This semantic confusion has greatly complicated the tasks of trying to marshal relevant data, to sort out significant issues, and to determine their relationships to each other. Adolescence is a period during which it becomes important to recognize that there are actually three distinctive societal constructs and definitions of age. These constructs are chronological age, biological age, and social age.
