9 Months

Napels, Italy 2010/2011.

Napels, Italy 2010/2011.

In Naples, the rate of teenage pregnancies is one of the highest in Italy. Most of these pregnancies are wanted and well accepted by the families. In a society that rejects them, these teenage mothers use their own strength to conquer and build hope and a future. Carla is 17, Virna 14, Marsia , Carmela and Angela 18; they all look forward to a new phase of life, and behind their windows, silent and hidden, we wonder whether it’s irresponsibility or courage.

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Angela 18 and her sister Virna 14 sitting on the couch. The two sisters both fell pregnant in the same period of time. They live in a neighborhood called Via Stadera. Angela works as a Secretary Virna make nails reconstructions to her female neighbors, she wants to start her own beauty saloon. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Carla holds her baby Carmen while she is having dinner with her mother Carmela and Giovanni. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Angela 18 and her sister Virna 14 holding their babies. The two sisters both fell pregnant in the same period of time. They live in a neighborhood called Via Stadera. Angela works as a Secretary Virna make nails reconstructions to her female neighbors, she wants to start her own beauty saloon. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Giovanni and Carla at the window of the council flat in the neighborhood of Forcella. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Carla is holding her daughter Carmen while talking to a neighbor. These young teenage mum's hardly leave their houses, they spend most of their time at home with their families. Windows are the connection with the outside world. Through windows they speak with the neighbors, or by food from the shops in the street. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. A pregnant teenage mum. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. A pregnant teenage mum. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Carmela and Jonathan sitting on the couch. Carmela is holding one of the twins while her other son Andrea is playing on the bed. Carmela is 18, she has a three years old boy and is pregnant of 2 twins. She met her boyfriend Jonathan when she was 13 and since then never split up. Jonathan owns a betting center, when Carmela met him she was working as an hairdresser. She had to leave her job because Jonathan wanted to take care of everything. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Carla and Michele in their kitchen, Carla is just a few months pregnant. Carla and Michele live in suburbs of Naples in a neighborhood called Forcella. They met when Carla was 15 and Michele was 18, they both come from difficult family situations. Carla was receiving assistance by social workers and Michele was often in trouble with the law and was living in the street. When they met they decided to live together straight away and moved in Carla’s family house. It is a 5 floors building in the center of Naples almost entirely occupied by Carla’s family. It is a very loud place and people shout to each other from floor to floor. It’s a very warm and familiar environment and children are raised with other children. When Carla turned 16 they decided to have their own family and Carla got pregnant. At the time Michele was working in a restaurant and Carla stopped school very young so she could dedicate entirely to her pregnancy and her child. They were planning to move out and get their own flat. But a few weeks later Carla got pregnant, Michele had to go on a trial for a robbery he did when he was very young, and know he is under house arrest for 4 years. Now that Michele cannot work they do not receive any assistance from the government, and they depend economically from their families, which are also very poor, but they dream for a better future, to buy a house, have a good job and have the chance to give their baby Carmen a high education. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Two young sisters look after Carmela's twins. Carmela needs help because she has three babies and can't make it on her own. In Naples the neighbors help oneanother in raising the kids. Young girls learn very soon how to look after babies because in families there are many births. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Marsia, her mother and a neighbor on the stairs of their council flat. Marsia is 15 years old she met her boyfriend Roberto when she was very young and a few years later they decided to have a baby. Roberto was sent to jail for over a year so he couldn't see his baby born and Marsia lived with her family in a very small council flat. She was sharing the same bedroom with her parents and her brother. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Virna in the neighborhood of Via Stadera a few weeks before the childbirth. Virna is 14 years old, she met her boyfriend Edo when she was 11. She lives in the suburbs of Naples in a neighborhood called Via Stadera. When she got pregnant her family was under shock but they soon accepted the situation. Virna lived with her family until her baby Francesco was 6 months old and then moved with Edo. She studied as a make up artist and now has a number of female clients in her neighborhood. When she works she bring her baby along because most of her clients have babies and Virna goes in their houses to make nail reconstruction. She wants to start her own beauty saloon. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
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Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Carla is having her daughter Carmen Baptized, Michele is under arrest so he cannot attend the whole ceremony. Carla and Michele live in suburbs of Naples in a neighborhood called Forcella. They met when Carla was 15 and Michele was 18, they both come from difficult family situations. Carla was receiving assistance by social workers and Michele was often in trouble with the law and was living in the street. When they met they decided to live together straight away and moved in Carla’s family house. It is a 5 floors building in the center of Naples almost entirely occupied by Carla’s family. It is a very loud place and people shout to each other from floor to floor. It’s a very warm and familiar environment and children are raised with other children. When Carla turned 16 they decided to have their own family and Carla got pregnant. At the time Michele was working in a restaurant and Carla stopped school very young so she could dedicate entirely to her pregnancy and her child. They were planning to move out and get their own flat. But a few weeks later Carla got pregnant, Michele had to go on a trial for a robbery he did when he was very young, and know he is under house arrest for 4 years. Now that Michele cannot work they do not receive any assistance from the government, and they depend economically from their families, which are also very poor, but they dream for a better future, to buy a house, have a good job and have the chance to give their baby Carmen a high education. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

© Stephanie Gengotti - Image from the 9 Months photography project
i

Naples, Italy 2010 / 2011. Carla is a few moths old pregnant, she is laying on her bed making a phone call to Michele. Carla and Michele live in suburbs of Naples in a neighborhood called Forcella. They met when Carla was 15 and Michele was 18, they both come from difficult family situations. Carla was receiving assistance by social workers and Michele was often in trouble with the law and was living in the street. When they met they decided to live together straight away and moved in Carla’s family house. It is a 5 floors building in the center of Naples almost entirely occupied by Carla’s family. It is a very loud place and people shout to each other from floor to floor. It’s a very warm and familiar environment and children are raised with other children. When Carla turned 16 they decided to have their own family and Carla got pregnant. At the time Michele was working in a restaurant and Carla stopped school very young so she could dedicate entirely to her pregnancy and her child. They were planning to move out and get their own flat. But a few weeks later Carla got pregnant, Michele had to go on a trial for a robbery he did when he was very young, and know he is under house arrest for 4 years. Now that Michele cannot work they do not receive any assistance from the government, and they depend economically from their families, which are also very poor, but they dream for a better future, to buy a house, have a good job and have the chance to give their baby Carmen a high education. © Stephanie Gengotti/MoST

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