• Ann Malinowski and Lynnette Leeseberg Stamler.
• University of Windsor, Windsor, Ontario, Canada.
• MCN Am J Matern Child Nurs. 2003 May 1; 28 (3): 205-11.

PurposeTo explore adolescent girls' personal experience with an infant simulator that had to be cared for over a period of 1 to 2 weeks.Study Design And MethodsThis qualitative study employed the phenomenological approach and utilized Colaizzi's method of analysis. Participants were nine adolescent high school girls who were interviewed and audiotaped. Interview data were coded using NUD*IST 4 software.ResultsThree themes emerged from the data. They were (1) a parenting journey incorporating intellectual, emotive, and physical faculties; (2) recognizing the illusionary nature of previously held ideas about parenting an infant; and (3) offering counsel based on the BTIO experience.Clinical ImplicationsThe new perspectives gained by the participants about parenting a newborn infant differed markedly from the romantic fantasies they held prior to the experience. The teens started thinking more seriously about the consequences of sexual activity. Used for 1 to 2 weeks, in conjunction with budgeting exercises and provocative small-group discussions, the BTIO shows promise as an effective tool in helping to modify unrealistic and idealized teen views of adolescent pregnancy and parenting.

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