A Systematic Review of the Content of Mother-Daughter Reproductive Health Communication

Purpose: Teen pregnancies are usually unintended and continues to pose a threat to the social and economic status of the woman. Early adolescence (13–15 years old) is characterized by more sex-based discussions with mothers than fathers.  Mothers are at a unique position to teach their daughters about the reproductive system and its related changes such as ovulation and the menstrual cycle. There is also a general perception that the mother was the appropriate parent to discuss sexuality. The aim of this study was to examine the content of mother-daughter sexual and reproductive health communication

Methods: A systematic review of 10 databases including PubMed, MEDLINE, CINAHL, and more was conducted.  The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) statement guided the conduct of the review. Various search terms were used including maternal communication, adolescent sexual behavior, reproductive health, and mother interaction.  Studies were included if they were published in the last 50 years, were conducted in the U.S., studied communication between mother-daughter dyads.

Results: Twenty articles met full inclusion criteria. The majority were quantitative (65%), used convenience sample of mothers (75%), and had over 200 participants (55%).  The age of the daughters in the studies ranged from 9 to 20 years. Mothers’ age ranged from 36 to 46 years. The most common topics discussed by mothers with their daughters is related to  contraception and use of condoms (80% of the studies), sexually transmitted infections including HIV/AIDS (70% of the studies), conception/ sexual intercourse (50%), menstruation (40%) and sexual morality and mother values about sexuality (35%). Fewer studies discussed male physiology such as wet dreams, dating, abstinence, abortion and female personal hygiene.

Conclusions: Less than half of the studies reported discussions on female reproduction, menstrual cycle and ovulation.  It is important for mothers to be encouraged to discuss the physiology of female reproduction to help young girls better understand their risk of pregnancies and the need to use contraception if needed.