[Social support to pregnant adolescents: clarifying perceptions]

This descriptive-exploratory study using a qualitative approach was undertaken to describe the perceptions of pregnant adolescents in relation to social support provided during pregnancy. Twelve adolescents in their first pregnancy who frequented the outpatient health service in Passo Fundo in the state of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) participated in the study. The data was obtained by semi-structured interviews, genograms and ecomaps and was assessed by thematic analysis. It highlighted the need for support to overcome the fears and challenges of motherhood. The mothers and partners were perceived as the main sources of support in affective and material terms. Common sense knowledge prevailed in the information dimension and pregnancy as a mediator in the reconciliation with the father fulfilled the emotional dimension. The perception of the dimension of positive social interaction was blurred by self-imposed isolation. Thus the adolescent's perception of the social support received is clear in relation to the family nucleus and includes the people in the family circle. The network of care outside the family, including the healthcare services, is tenuous and generated the perception of psychosocial difficulties. This reveals the need for greater investment of primary healthcare professionals in the inclusion of first-time-pregnancy adolescents in social care groups, which ensure the healthy progress of the pregnancy.