Teenage Pregnancy/Nursing

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

This may or may not be useful. It goes to assessments beyond the belly :) I timed contractions at a psych hospital on a 12-year old. It was her fathers' baby. The home situation sometimes needs to be looked at a bit more closely, if the kid is hinky about the baby's father to the point of not even telling someone away from the parent/s. The 12-year old, and her siblings were removed from the home (and the 12y/o was temporarily placed at the psych facility because of 24 hour nursing). When she went into labor (terrified beyond all description), she was sent to the local hospital where she delivered, and relinquished the baby for adoption.

With the adolescents (where I usually worked) there was a major glamorization of being a teen mom (and this was back in the early 90s- WAY before all of the reality stuff on TV). Some openly wanted kids, and BEING kids, had no clue about how hard it was. This was also when the "Baby Think It Over" dolls were just coming out. The psych budget allowed for a 5# bag of flour stuffed into a baby's sleeper, that the teen who wanted a baby so badly was assigned to lug around with her for 48 hours. She was awakened at night to "feed" it, and one kid who left the bag out by the pool was 'interviewed' by one of the adult unit staff who she didn't know, to have her parental rights severed for neglect of her "baby".... some kids got annoyed being awakened...few got the point. It was a joke.

I did some volunteer work with unwed moms- the one I spent the most time with was in her late teens. She had decided to give her baby up- and since I'd been adopted, she wanted to ask a lot of questions about my feelings towards my birthmother. That poor girl was in agony. She was allowed to see the baby and take photos (which was not allowed back when I was born, and in finding my birth mom, found out how devastating that was for her). She gave that baby the best gift she could- and she understood that, in the most gut-wrenching, primal grief I think I've ever seen. Teenagers never think about consequences- that part of the brain isn't fully developed (to consider future consequences of current behavior) until a person is around 25 years old. They really aren't capable. I used to tell kids to think of what they want in life- make a list. Then think about how various peer pressure-related behaviors and activities may interfere with that- and make the decision BEFORE the situation ever came up.

Thanks for saying this was homework up front :) Another idea is to call the county health department or planned parenthood/crisis pregnancy centers- and get different info from them - good luck :up:

ValDonovan · Sep 4, 2011

I don't know how much this will help... but.. when I was doing clinicals at the local health dept. I had a pt come in that was 15 yoa and seeking birth control for a second unwanted pregnancy.

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

While I do work in Peds and I work with a lot of teenagers I would encourage you to think out of the box at what I feel is the bigger problem in teen pregnancy. Not just the practice of unsafe sex between promiscuous teens.

There is a very big pysch-social issue that is very present in teenage girls TRYING to get pregnant.

It goes far beyond teaching them about safer sex and the financial burdens of having a child as a teen.

LoveMyBugs, BSN, CNA, RN · Sep 4, 2011

While I do work in Peds and I work with a lot of teenagers I would encourage you to think out of the box at what I feel is the bigger problem in teen pregnancy. Not just the practice of unsafe sex between promiscuous teens.
There is a very big pysch-social issue that is very present in teenage girls TRYING to get pregnant.
It goes far beyond teaching them about safer sex and the financial burdens of having a child as a teen.

As nurses do you feel we could make an impact on teen girls trying to get pregnant, more than providing sex ed.

As a society is it something we need to look at to make a change?

Would it be more related to young girls wanting someone/something to love/love them back?

Thank you for your feedback, deffinalty another area to explore

I am planning on calling my local health department, crisis pregnacny centers, planned parenthood to speak with them, but deffinatly want to get as many nuses input as I can from a variety of specialties.

I know when I did my clinical rotation in a pedi hospital 2 of my patients were teen moms, one already had an infant, the other was pregnant. I only had these patients for a day, but in reading through the charts, there was nothing addressing the pregnancy, and the social issues that my patients faced. This paper is to explore what as nurses are we currently doing and can we do more

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

Yes- sex ed is important. It's not happening effectively at school or home, and I'm not sure where nurses fit in, unless kids seek the information themselves. All of the lectures about abstinence are a joke (and I'm fairly conservative- but it just isn't common sense to not equip them with the knowledge they need to be as safe as possible). Kids are going to do what they're going to do- they need to know how to prevent pregnancy, STDs, and the impact that has on the rest of their lives.

Goals and education are also a factor- in getting them out of any high-risk populations/socio-economic groups. IDK if school screenings of two parent homes, having been the product of an unwanted pregnancy, etc.....but schools are cutting back so much that full time library workers are being cut- having someone screen kids won't happen.

History of sexual abuse is a high risk factor- looking for male attention in the wrong ways (but the only way she knows)- another way to screen- but how?

There's a Teen Pregnancy Prevention program in GA, that Jane Fonda has been involved with (whether people like her or not, she has been influential with this)...and they had some success in lowering the rates.

Good luck :)

~Mi Vida Loca~RN, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

As nurses do you feel we could make an impact on teen girls trying to get pregnant, more than providing sex ed.
I think we could but it would be tricky, one you have to make sure you aren't crossing any lines when reaching out to these teens, (I also worked with at risk teen girls when I was in HS and I could do a lot more) the second obstacle would be reaching these teens before they got pregnant.
As a society is it something we need to look at to make a change?
As far as society, I am not sure where they can play a role either, maybe opening more avenues of support for these girls before they get pregnant. Or being less judgmental and more understanding when it comes to these girls instead of blowing them off or putting them into the throw away pile.
Would it be more related to young girls wanting someone/something to love/love them back?
This is exactly what I feel is the bigger reason for teen pregnancy. I feel it's a much more emotionally deep issue. Whether the girl is suffering from abuse/neglect I think it comes down to what they feel that baby can give them. It fills a void they have. Teens can't usually grasp long term consequences and are more into instant gratification. This just comes with the developmental stage of being a teenager. So I think the key would be to find out what is going on with these girls that is making them feel that a baby would be the answer. Help to fill this void or give them other outlets where they can feel a sense of belonging without having to go through such extremes. Also a lot of times it's girls thinking it's the way to keep a guy. Even though they see in others it almost always never works out. But again, this goes back to that sense of feeling loved and wanting to give love that they think they can get from this guy or baby.
Thank you for your feedback, deffinalty another area to explore
I am planning on calling my local health department, crisis pregnacny centers, planned parenthood to speak with them, but deffinatly want to get as many nuses input as I can from a variety of specialties.
I know when I did my clinical rotation in a pedi hospital 2 of my patients were teen moms, one already had an infant, the other was pregnant. I only had these patients for a day, but in reading through the charts, there was nothing addressing the pregnancy, and the social issues that my patients faced. This paper is to explore what as nurses are we currently doing and can we do more

I do feel there needs to be more public resources available to teen moms to help them be more productive in society. I was a teen mom, if I didn't have the support I did through my alternative school, I wouldn't be where I am today. They made it possible for me to still finish HS without problems. It was a pretty small community with limited funded but they had support systems and resources. I did my pediatric rotation teaching project on teen moms and I was shocked that in this larger town I now live in with a lot of financial resources, there is VERY LITTLE in place to help teen moms with continuing their education for just a HS education.

IdrilRN, BSN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

When I was a young 20 y.o I wanted a baby so badley becuase I was lonley and wanted something/someone to love me unconditionally. My childhood/teen years sucked and I was or at least I felt unloved.

Two of my daughters older sisters, who are 17 and 16, who have an absent father, a moms too busy being their friends to be parents. One thought it was ok for her 14 year old girl to have her 17 y.o boyfriend stay overnight, in the same room down stairs while the mom was busy doing her own thing. Like another poster said it's more then two teens having sex.

My best friend in high school, from an abusive home, was lonley and wanted her boyfriend never to leave her, had a baby at the beginning of our senior year. Two others who were best friends, both from crappy home lives, each had two babies by the time wewere finished with high school. This was late 80's to 1990.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

I do feel there needs to be more public resources available to teen moms to help them be more productive in society. I was a teen mom, if I didn't have the support I did through my alternative school, I wouldn't be where I am today. They made it possible for me to still finish HS without problems. It was a pretty small community with limited funded but they had support systems and resources. I did my pediatric rotation teaching project on teen moms and I was shocked that in this larger town I now live in with a lot of financial resources, there is VERY LITTLE in place to help teen moms with continuing their education for just a HS education.

It's sad. Education in general is pathetic. They have cut so many staff- from teachers, to library assistants (guess nobody uses books anymore?), and athletic directors. For some kids, athletics is their only ticket to college- plus the team building, accomplishment, etc that sports provide. There's not enough for the "good" kids...the ones who deviate from the standard plan get bupkus. Some districts have programs where moms can bring their babies to daycare at school- but those are scattered about .

Our district here just cut all but a few PART time library aides. Athletic directors are gone. Teachers were laid off. BUT they had enough to BUY a new building for HQ of the district. That went over like lead feathers. :down:

lrobinson5 · Sep 4, 2011

Sometimes there is a huge lack of sex education in schools. I was a teen mom, and I know that I felt pretty stupid about a few things after I got pregnant. When I had a + test, my now sister-in-law drove me to planned parenthood, a place that I didn't really know anything about (other than people protest abortions). I had NO idea that you could get free, anonymous appointments for health check ups and birth control.

I know that ultimately it was my responsibility, but I can't help but think how different my life would be had I been equipped with more knowledge about all of these things. That isn't to say I would go back in time and do things differently. My daughter is 5 and in kindergarten and I love her more than anything :)

I think that depending on the reasons for the pregnancies it might be easy or difficult to find a method to reduce teen pregnancy across the board. I think there aren't easy answers for the teens that are trying to have a baby at such a young age.

xtxrn, ASN, RN · Sep 4, 2011

Sometimes there is a huge lack of sex education in schools. I was a teen mom, and I know that I felt pretty stupid about a few things after I got pregnant. When I had a + test, my now sister-in-law drove me to planned parenthood, a place that I didn't really know anything about (other than people protest abortions). I had NO idea that you could get free, anonymous appointments for health check ups and birth control.
I know that ultimately it was my responsibility, but I can't help but think how different my life would be had I been equipped with more knowledge about all of these things. That isn't to say I would go back in time and do things differently. My daughter is 5 and in kindergarten and I love her more than anything :)
I think that depending on the reasons for the pregnancies it might be easy or difficult to find a method to reduce teen pregnancy across the board. I think there aren't easy answers for the teens that are trying to have a baby at such a young age.

The primary responsibility for teaching kids about sex is the parent/s. And it's been an issue for decades. Yes, the schools need to pony up and provide info about where to go for things that they CAN'T go to their parents about- even if just handing out a list of places and phone numbers... but parents are the ultimate responsibility for raising their kids. Schools need to teach what is needed to move on to the next level in life, and basic information.

You may have had some responsibility for getting pregnant- but if your parent/s had given you at least some info- and the school followed up with the organizations that can help, you would have had more choices. :)

Kudos to you for not allowing choices as a teenager to determine where you landed in life- it must be difficult, even though you love your little girl :)

KaringOne · Sep 4, 2011

I was 16 yrs when I became pregnant with my first child, 17 yrs & a senior in high school when I had my daughter (who is now almost 17 yrs old). I was an honors student, taking some college classes in high school. I'm from a small town of about 4000-5000 people. If you were a female & didn't have a baby by the time you were out of high school, then you were not part of the norm. It was mostly the girls from the African American community who had the babies. I would occassionally hear about some of the Caucasian girls getting pregnant but they would abort them or they would be away for awhile & when you'd see them the next time it would be as if nothing had happened (I assumed they had probably given the babies up for adoption or something). Our school system acted as if there wasn't a problem & looked the other way; they often looked down on us girls when it became apparent that we were pregnant. They took me out of all my college classes that I was taking when they found out I was pregnant. Also, any girl who became pregnant couldn't be a homecoming attendant or anything like that (it wasn't that way for the boys).

Now my mother didn't speak much on sex, only saying that I'd "better not bring no babies home". (Even though she had me when she was 17yrs old too) Nothing was said about STDs etc. I did take full responsibility for becoming pregnant, didn't blame anyone but myself. I knew that having a baby would make life more difficult for me (to say the least), as I had helped take care of my younger brothers, sisters, & cousins since I was eleven while my mother worked 2 jobs. We had our local health dept. that attempted to keep us up on information on how to best take care of ourselves while we were pregnant & after we had our babies. There was the WIC (Woman, Infants, & Children) program that helped provide food & nutritional information for low income families (that is a great program). I remember a program where a local lady would come around to your homes with free books for your babies to encourage them to read @ an early age. We had a local family learning center who would provide daycare for us young mothers during the day while we were @ school. They also provided job skills training & GED training for mothers & fathers who needed it. When I went to LPN school they helped me with nursing supplies/clothing so I didn't have to pay out-of-pocket. There were other state programs (that they don't tell you about) that paid for me to go to LPN school since I was a young single mother. I didn't pay for anything. One program even bought me a car to get back & forth to school.

Now that I have young teenage girls that I am responsible for, their father & I talk to them about sex,STDs, peer pressure,drugs, etc. I am not stupid enough to think that my children won't have sex because of all the good values that we have instilled in them. I am not naive enough to believe that when I am not around that they are going to behave the same way as when I am around. I also don't look the other way & pretend not to notice that I see how beautiful my daughters are, & that my 12 yr old has a body that is more matured & filled out than her 16yr old sister & even mine @ 16yrs. I know that if I notice these things then other people have too. I keep my daughters educated on sex & everything, encourage them to ask questions & let them know I wouldn't get upset when they do (they didn't believe that one till they tried it a couple times). I want them to know they can come to me about anything & everything cause I got their backs. I don't try to hide my past from them because I want them to see that I've been there & speak from experience. I just feel that in many ways, the solution to teen pregnancy can be started & found with the parents. We can't stop everyone from becoming pregnant @ a young age, because they are gonna do what they want to in the end. But we can keep them well educated & informed of all the pros & cons so that when the time comes for them to make a decision, they can make a well-informed one.

Sorry my reply was so long. This is a personal issue with me. :)