According to official statistics, about 750,000 teenage mothers give birth every year.
This is something upsetting if you are a mentor, teacher or parent to a teen of this kind. Once you get past the first shock, you will see that she needs all your support and she will need a lot of help to pull through.
Information about mothers who are teenagers
If the girl in question doesn’t have a partner, and most probably she won’t, she will need your help. You can help her through being there for her when she needs you, and most importantly, restrain from judging her when you feel like you could say something upsetting.
First step
If you are faced with mothers that are teenagers you should place aside your beliefs and opinions.
It is possible that you will want her to give the child up for adoption or to make the father play a more important role in the life of the baby and of the mother, but in the end it’s not your decision to make.
The teenage mothers need unconditional love and support.
This is why after the first shock you have to get past your preconceptions and help her during the pregnancy, labor, childbirth, and in the end offer your support to raise the child the best way you possibly can.
Second step
One of the most important things to do regarding mothers that are teenagers is to make sure that she receives adequate medical care during the prenatal period. Young mothers are more likely to be affected by different kinds of health problems during pregnancy, such as anemia and high blood pressure.
Some other problems that teenage mothers could encounter include low birth weight and premature birth. These problems can be assessed by professional doctors, but sometimes the mothers are irresponsible and they don’t get the care that they need. This is why you should make the appointments.
Third step
The mothers that are teenagers need a birth plan and also a plan for the care of the baby. If the mother would like to go back to school, there is need for care during the day. It is important to remember that the mother is still quite immature and she can’t care for the baby as well as you could.
Although you should offer your help to the teenage mothers, make sure that they don’t abuse and use the free time that they get to hang out with friends and to have a developed social life. Although it may sound harsh, it is a good idea to write a contract so that both of you will know what to do.
Fourth step
Birth control is important for the mothers who are teenagers also. It is likely that she doesn’t want to have an active sexual life after the baby is born, but still she needs to know that she has options when she decides to have intercourse again. This way she won’t become a teen mom several times.
Fifth step
It may be useful for the teenage mothers to meet with support groups. Her situation could get lonely and isolated and so it may be important for her to be surrounded by people that are in the same situation and that understand her. This way she can meet other teenage mothers.
Communication is important in case of the teenage mothers so that they can share different kinds of problems that they have. She can have a social circle made of people who have to face the same problems that she does and in the same time as she does.
