Mieux comprendre et accompagner les maternités adolescentes en Guadeloupe

Abstract

Au cours de mon activité d’assistante sociale au service social en faveur des élèves de Guadeloupe, je me suis intéressée à la problématique des adolescentes mères durant leur scolarité. Malgré la mobilisation des équipes médico-sociales pour promouvoir une sexualité adolescente responsable, des jeunes filles se trouvent enceintes à l’école. Certaines donnent naissance à un âge réputé précoce. Les éducateurs de santé s’en alarment devant la persistance des statistiques d’interruptions volontaires de grossesse et de naissances, malgré les programmes de prévention.

In Guadeloupe, in spite of a sexuality education program towards the college and high school, a significant quantity of pregnancies occur among teenagers. The sociological approach shows that these births mainly happen in modest environment with traditional family organization where the mother status is valorized. The middle and upper classes, where school actors are issued from, are little concerned by this problematic, far from their model of entering the adulthood life. If the «habitus» of the young people were more taken in account, the actions of sensibilization would be more effective and would improve the phenomena of cognitive dissonance generated by the alterity of the social world in presence. It is necessary to base these actions on the abilities and the respect of the teenagers choice, as is preconized by the empowerment approach which remains to be built.