3.4.2. Sub-Theme 4.2: Financial Circumstances

Most participants indicated the nature of their employment, along with the number of people working in the household. Several participants gave an account of favorable financial circumstances: "He [child's father] also had a full-time job. Financially, it went well during my pregnancy. His income was enough" (Participant 7). However, numerous participants experienced financial strain, as they themselves or their family members only worked part-time: "It was very difficult. My father-in-law did char [part time] jobs ... and my mother-in-law also did char [part time] jobs, but only two times a week or once a week ... " (Participant 8). Some participants were teenagers, and left school when they got pregnant: "Like me, I do not have experience of work and so. Grade 10 out of the school" (Participant 12).

Some participants found employment after the birth of their child that relieved the financial strain: " ... I went working. And then it started to go better" (Participant 16). In contrast, numerous participants experienced severe financial difficulty, and were consequently not able to sufficiently provide for their own needs and the needs of their baby, as expressed by Participant 10: "Then there were those Fridays when we did not even have money for a box of milk for the child. We were not in a financial position to give the child what was due to her".
