To help mothers with unwanted or unexpected teen pregnancy.

OVERVIEW

Teen pregnancy is epidemic, and many difficult decisions await pregnant teens. Some teens choose to have the baby rather than to abort the pregnancy. Others, because of moral or other reasons, would carry the baby to term but elect an abortion because of the overwhelming variables involved in having the baby. These include medical bills, maternity clothes, physical limitations which may interfere with school or work, supportive counseling, and a home (if one’s family is unstable or hostile about the pregnancy). Ways of addressing these issues and needs must be accessible to pregnant teens in order to help them decide against abortion.

NATURE OF INTERVENTION

One good option is to provide the pregnant adolescent a comprehensive book about teen pregnancy. There are excellent books which examine many of the issues of this problem. While a book primarily serves as a resource for the teenager herself, it would also be a valuable aid to a parent of or an adult working with a pregnant teen.

Another option is to direct the teen to one of the many Crisis Pregnancy Centers found throughout the U.S. They provide resources to help teenagers prepare to deliver. They also work to provide a stable environment for pregnant teens from unstable homes; they may allow the girl to stay at the center or may place her with a family, as her situation necessitates. If the teenager keeps the baby, they help her get established by providing housing, meals, day care, and job assistance.

RECOMMENDED PRINCIPLES

Youth workers should counsel the teen or connect her with a counselor such as those at CPC if the young woman is not already receiving wise, moral guidance. The teen’s parents should be consulted as soon as is appropriate.

SPECIAL CAUTIONS

Becoming pregnant and carrying a baby to term will transform a teenager’s life. Her physical limitations increase. This may affect her attendance and performance at school and—if she has a job—at work. Finances become extremely difficult to balance due to medical costs, maternity clothes, and sometimes, housing. Relationships change. Friends may alienate the teen, as may some or all family members. And the teenager must make crucial, life-changing adult decisions.

CRITICAL INTERVENTION OF PARENTS

When a teenager becomes pregnant, to best face the situation, it is vital that her parents support her and help guide her through the myriad decisions. Crisis Pregnancy Centers work with many teenagers who have been rejected by their families because of their pregnancies. The result is that, while making crucial decisions, they are dealing with added family pressures. Parents need to accept their daughter’s pregnancy and help her through the process. Parents should provide guidance. They should help their daughter make sound decisions, presenting financial considerations and other factors influencing whether she should keep the baby, place it in foster care temporarily, or place it for adoption. They should also provide emotional support throughout the pregnancy, delivery, and postpartum stages.

CRITICAL INTERVENTION OF A SIGNIFICANT ADULT

A significant adult can support and guide a pregnant teen in place of or in addition to a parent. The adult needs to accept the pregnant teenager. However, since the dynamics of the relationship are different, different issues may arise. When possible, the adult should encourage the teenager to discuss issues with her parents. In addition and if feasible, he or she should work with the teen’s parents.

IMPLICATIONS

1. Crisis Pregnancy Centers are found across the U.S. They assist pregnant teens who come from unsupportive or unstable homes to prepare for delivery. Para-professional counseling is also provided. Locally, CPC operates under the names Birthright and Daybreak.
2. Adoption agencies and government foster programs should also be contacted if the teenager is considering either of these two options.
3. If the teenager has chosen to keep her child, she will need to establish a life for herself and her child. The process may be overwhelming, so parents and youth workers need to support, encourage, and assist her. She will need to decide where she will live. (Can she live at home? If not, where else can she live?) She will need to determine how to support herself and her baby. (Will her parents help until she finishes school? If not, what type of job can she get?) Child care must also be considered. (Will she be supported and stay home with the child? Or, who will take care of the child when she is in school or at work?)
4. Times may be difficult; it could be easy for her to give up and settle for welfare. In difficult times, parents and significant other adults can help her renew her commitment to work for a better life for her and her child.
5. Many programs are currently available for pregnant teens. However, the majority of these programs are pro-choice, providing referrals for or actually performing abortions. While some offer abortion as an option, others actually encourage abortion.

Tara Yonts cCYS