As meninas / Teen Mothers

Documentary - (RJ, 71', 2006) - By Sandra Werneck

On her 13th birthday, Evelin finds out that she is pregnant by her boyfriend, who is 22 years old and has just stopped working for the local drug dealers in Rocinha, a slum in Rio de Janeiro. The young man is happy with the idea of becoming a father.

The possibility of having an abortion hasn’t even crossed the mind of 15-year-old Luana when she finds out that she is pregnant. Having lost her father very early, Luana lives with her four younger sisters and her mother in a female-only house. Since she was little she has helped her mother bringing up the girls and lately she has been thinking of having a child \“only of her own\”.

Edilene has neither planned nor avoided pregnancy. The same goes for her mother, so now both mother and daughter are pregnant. Edilene awaits a son by Alex, whom she loves. Alex, a womaniser, is also about to father a child by Joice, 15 years old. Edilene, 14 years old and egnant, faces the drama of being in a love triangle.

Teen Mother follows the daily lives of these four young girls for a whole year.