A report compiled for the Galway Youth Federation has found that young women on some parts of the western seaboard still experience a social stigma from having an unplanned pregnancy.
The study by Ms Áine Deely focuses on issues common to women aged between 17 and 23 living in rural areas of Connemara and east Galway.
Between 1998 and 2003 a total of 1,055 women under the age of 22 gave birth in the county, with four of them being 15-years-old or younger, and the majority being 18 or over.
The research does not include young mothers from the Travelling community or refugees or asylum seekers, as it was felt that specific issues associated with those groups could not be represented adequately or fairly within the research budget.
The study finds that young mothers in rural communities feel marginalised or alienated from and by their peers, and may have to leave their family or community.
Most live on a low income, are dependent on the State or family or both, have difficulty finding decent work and good childcare, and also have difficulty in finding suitable accommodation.
Unlike women in similar circumstances in city areas, they find it almost impossible to continue in full-time education, and part-time educational opportunities are limited by lack of childcare and transport.
In some areas, services and supports do exist, such as at the Youthreach project in Letterfrack, Co Galway, Portiuncula Hospital's Crisis Pregnancy Project in Ballinasloe, Co Galway, the Athlone Institute of Technology in Co Westmeath and the Young Mothers in Education Project in Galway.
However, other areas like Portumna, south Galway, and Clifden and Carraroe in the west of the county are limited in what they can offer.
According to the research, young mothers were unwilling to avail of opportunities due to a lack of confidence and motivation, while others were unaware of facilities available to them.
More young mothers are likely to remain within the post-primary school system and complete their Leaving Certificate if they get pregnant in fifth or sixth year and if there is support from school staff and management and from family, the study finds.
However, third-level education is still restricted to those young mothers who are highly motivated, have financial security and have considerable family support, the study notes.
More young women would participate in Youthreach programmes if there was a better understanding of, and support for, their childcare needs.
The study recommends that the Leaving Certificate should be available as a modular course over a period of years, and says that post-primary schools should have at least one dedicated person for students who need to discuss personal issues.
It says that third-level institutions and other further education colleges should set up outreach programmes for young women who find it impossible to move to a city area.
It recommends that the age threshold for means-testing for college grants should be lowered for young people with children, and young parents should also be exempt from paying college registration fees. Applications for third-level courses should also be simpler, it says.
The study notes that Galway city's Young Mothers in Education project has responded to, and worked with, 32 young mothers resident in the county area, apart from working with many city-based participants.
A group of 12 young mothers from the city and county recently completed the successful "Moving On" programme, a self-development initiative designed by One Family.
