Babies Raising Babies

by Grace Verhoeven staff writer

Teen parenthood is all about managing struggles between school and home life, and for many, help can be hard to come by

Photos Courtesy of N. Worden

Teen pregnancy is a growing topic that many people find hard to understand; why would teens risk their lives and futures by becoming pregnant in high school? As a society, it’s important to understand both sides of the story and for teen parents to feel understood and not judged. People need to know the struggles teen moms go through, as well as the good parts to fully understand their strength and confidence. Teen pregnancy can be immature, but it often turns into maturity in most cases. Teen parents have to step up and make the hard decisions that affect not just their life, but their child’s too. They have to trade in parties, friends, and homework for bath time, bottles, and burping. Having fun will consist of tummy time instead of party time. For many young mothers, a sick baby means having to miss school or work and having to decide between paying the electric bill or having food for the week. When the pregnancy test shows a positive result, many teen moms feel as if their entire future has slipped through their fingertips. Nakeyta Worden, a former TCAPS student, was a teen mother, and her health and future were forever altered the day she found out she was pregnant as a senior in high school. Not only did she have to make the decision to not attend college right away, her health was significantly worse. Teens are more at risk for pregnancy complications, specifically an increased risk of high blood pres-

sure, Eclampsia, Anemia, and premature births. Worden reveals that “the hardest part of [her] pregnancy was being sick all the time and I had preeclampsia at the end, so that was hard.” Preeclampsia occurs when a pregnant woman has a spike in their blood pressure causing dizziness, headaches or fainting. In contrast, Eclampsia is when the blood pressure is very high, making it more serious; it can cause seizures, a coma, and it can put the mother’s and the baby’s life at risk. These, unfortunately, are only a few of the complications pregnant women—and especially teens—are at risk for. To help prevent many of these complications, mothers take vitamins specifically for pregnancy. “Even though I took all the vitamins and followed all the doctor’s orders, I still developed preeclampsia,” Worden explains. Even if a teen is blessed with a healthy pregnancy, the amount of decisions made in the moments after discovering pregnancy is nerve-wracking. Visiting with a primary care provider as soon as possible will help the mom to figure out what prenatal vitamins would be the best for their body and their babies, along with any potential health risks. Vitamins and doctor appointments are only the beginning for new mothers. The decisions leading up to birth and for the rest of their lives will forever affect their child. From that point forward, the new mom has to worry about so many things, from how they’re going to get money for baby clothes, as well as working and trying to graduate from school. There is some hope on the horizon in the sense that teen birth rates are decreasing as knowledge about teen pregnancy risks is persevering. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, “birth rates fell 7% for females ages 15 to 17 years and 4% for females aged 18 to 19 years. Causes for the declines are not totally clear, but evidence suggests these declines are due to more teens abstaining from sexual activity and more teens who are sexually active [and] are using birth control more than in previous years.” Perhaps if there was more funding and promotion of sex ed in schools, the teen birth rates could be even lower than they are now. TCAPS has several resources to help teen parents and their families in the area. Generations Ahead is a support program for teen parents that is sponsored by Traverse City High School. They offer teen moms different kinds of support through a mentoring program, play groups, and counseling services, as well as a baby pantry, a parent education class, and summer internships. Generations Ahead helps Traverse City teens beyond high school up until 22 years of age.The mentoring program matches the teen parent with an adult who can offer friendship, guidance, and time together as teen parents prepare for the future. The mentor can help to focus on educational and employment goals, the child’s development and parenting skills, and help connect with different community services that may be needed. An anonymous client remarks that “when I had a mentor, that was the best thing ever. I had her pick me up, we’d go to lunch and I had someone who was unbiased, who just listened and was compassionate. That’s all I needed, even if it was for five minutes.” Their counseling services can be with family, one on one, or even with a group of other teen moms. With the counseling, teens can create goals for themselves, have help overcoming difficult situations, or just talk through personal afflictions. Another client reports, “What I like is being able to talk about anything.” Being able to talk openly to an adult who cares and will listen is sometimes all these young mothers and father’s need. Everyone should have someone to help them navigate their pregnancy and beyond. Here in Traverse City, we are lucky enough to have a community that is willing to go above and beyond for students in need. Being a teen parent will never be easy, but if we can come together and show support, we can improve their lives and their children’s lives. A little kindness and compassion can take a scary, lonely situation and make it a little more bearable for these teens. Continuing to offer programs and raise awareness will help the babies of these moms learn early for their futures that while being a teen parent can be horribly hard, together, it’s not impossible. //