PREGNANT 18 YR with no legal guardian!!! HELP

Published

OK! I have an 18 yr old girl that is a SR this year, she is on a 4th grade level and is pregnant. She lives with her BF and can not tell me when her last period was. What do I do. I need to get her prenatal care, but she says when she left home she left her medicaid card and SS card. She is waiting on new ones.Where do I even start????

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Nephrology, Cardiology, ER, ICU.

At least in IL, medical cards are on computer and you can be treated by just supplying a name and birthdate.

You can also refer to a clinic because they will usually take you and not ask questions.

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in Cardiology.

Agreed- we can usually look all that stuff up online, particularly if the person knows their SSN. If not, we still proceed, but send them a bill, which they can discuss with the financial counselors when they get it. Wost case scenario in our hospital is that you get a bill with a 64% (ish) discount, best case is that even without insurance, we give you charity care and you get no bill.

It might be helpful to find a social worker who works for your local government to have them manage care for her- even if she is 18, there are usually agencies who work with people who have developmental disabilities, and if she is functioning at a 4th grade level, she will probably need a little assistance to be successful as a parent and navigating other adult responsibilities.

Good luck! BTW, the state may also pay for her prenatal care. In NY, nobody is denied prenatal care- they are eligible for state-funded care because someone finally realized that the cost of decent prenatal care was much less expensive than trying to take care of a baby who could have been healthy if they got it. My guess is that other states have similar programs- here it is called PCAP, which IIRC, is the prenatal care assistance program.

Up Vote Up Vote ×

Thanks!

Up Vote Up Vote ×
Specializes in OB/GYN, Peds, School Nurse, DD.

Can you get the guidance counselor involved? A lot of times they have more community resources than I have. This girl definitely needs prenatal care and a plan for caring for the baby. Is she intellectually impaired or just behind in her education?

Up Vote Up Vote ×
+ Join the Discussion