ABSTRACT
This chapter presents an argument for dual-generation intervention approaches to protect and promote the development of adolescent mothers and their children, especially during times of economic crises in low-and middle-income countries (LAMICs). The issue of early childbearing in LAMICs is not a new one. There has been a substantial amount of research and policy discussions around questions of reducing adolescent fertility (McQueston, Silverman, & Glassman, 2012). Yet there is a remarkable dearth of recent research around how to best support adolescent mothers and mothers-to-be in ways that would improve their own development and that of their children in an effort to break the intergenerational transmission of poverty and disadvantage. This is not entirely surprising; the political economy around adolescent pregnancy and motherhood has a strong preference for preventative efforts. While prevention of adolescent pregnancy may be the first best solution, we risk losing the productive potential of multiple generations to come, as reductions in adolescent fertility are happening very slowly in some parts of the world.
