Despite the fact that the teen birth rate is climbing after slowly falling for years, about 85% of these pregnancies are unplanned, which in any population can increase the risk for problems. The biggest risk for teen mothers is delaying prenatal care or worse, 7.2% received no care at all.
The reason for lack of prenatal care is usually delayed pregnancy testing, denial or even fear of telling others about the pregnancy. Most counties have a health clinic where pre-natal care is free or low cost and patient confidentiality is very important, meaning no one can tell the teen mother's family.
Because the body of a teen is still growing she will need more nutritional support to meet both her needs and that of her baby. Nutritional counseling can be a large portion of prenatal care, usually done by a doctor or a midwife, sometimes a nutritionist. This counseling will usually include information about prenatal vitamins, folic acid, and the dos and don'ts of eating and drinking. Lack of proper nutrition can lead to problems like anemia (low iron), low weight gain, etc.
Another problem facing teen mothers is the use of drugs and alcohol, including cigarette smoking. No amount of any of these substances is safe for use in pregnancy. In fact, their use can complicate pregnancy even further increasing the likelihood of premature birth and other complications.
Premature birth and low birth weight create a wealth of their own problems, including brain damage, physical disabilities and more. The potentially lengthy hospital stay and increased risk of health problems for these babies leads to more stress on the teen mother.
While facing the grim realities of teen pregnancy is not pleasant, this is not the picture that has to be painted. Teen mothers are perfectly capable of having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby. With the proper nutrition, early prenatal care and good screening for potential problems the majority of these potential problems will not come to light. While some tend to think that you can't teach a teen mother anything about her body or baby, it's really a ridiculous notion. Many of the teen mothers who take active roles in their care do go on to have healthy babies, despite the other hardships that they will face in their lives.
Support from the families and communities is a must for the young, new family to be successful.
Better Mental Health
Added: 02/09/10 : 10:10:02
Some people see life as a battle. Every encounter is a struggle, and if they don't win, they feel like they have lost. Others view life as an adventure. A new day brings new opportunities to explore.
If something goes badly today, there's always tomorrow.
How do these metaphors develop? As children we begin to understand and organise the world. If we think of the brain as a filing cabinet, then childhood is when we open the files and label them. We often spend the rest of our lives putting new material in these old files. If childhood was healthy, then we may have a pretty good filing system. If it was a struggle, then we often see struggles for the rest of our life.
What are your metaphors? This is not usually obvious. We have to stand back a long way to see patterns like this in our lives. A few examples:
* A Battle - Everything is a competition or a struggle. We are always either winning or losing. * A Garden - Relationships are cultivated like flowers or vegetables. We see things as growing, flowering, producing. * A Mission - We believe that we have the truth and we need to convince others that our point-of-view is right. * A Journey or an adventure - We travel from place to place meeting new people and exploring. * A Building - Starting with a solid foundation, then adding floors and rooms. * A Roller Coaster - Life consists of ups and downs, and we are along for the ride. * A Stained-glass window - full of light and colors. * A Mountain Climb - Life consists of hierarchies. We are always climbing the corporate ladder. * A Race - always finding the fastest route, "keeping up with the Jonses." * A Courtroom - Everything in life should be fair. * Stepping Stones - We barely get comfortable where we are before we are looking for better job or a bigger house. * A Prison - Feeling like we don't have choices, like others have all the power. * A Classroom - There are always new lessons to learn. * A Battery - Every encounter seems to drain energy. We need the weekends to recharge.
These are just a few of the life metaphors that run people's lives. What metaphor(s) fit your life? Do they work or do they cause problems and limit your choices? It's possible to change metaphors, but it's not easy. Good mental health includes having life metaphors that work.
Teen Pregnancy
Better Mental Health