The aim of this paper is to describe the meaning of the experience of motherhood for three young mothers. The participants were staying in a shelter for teenage mothers in the city of São Paulo . Five meetings were conducted with each pair (mother and child), with the aim of understanding each mother's experience in relation to pregnancy and motherhood, various forms of violence and the bond with their child. The contents found were related to ideas presented by the psychoanalyst Donald W. Winnicott. In all three cases analyzed, we observed that motherhood has a special meaning and is considered a sign of hope, according to Winnicott's concept of rediscovering a significant experience of affection, upon which a genuine feeling of concern and commitment for the other can be grounded. However, if mothers are left to their own fate at this moment, there is a risk that experiences of neglect and violence may be repeated.
Adolescent pregnancy; Psychoanalysis; Mother-child relation; Winnicott theory; Violence