Assets

• Education (online, night classes, tutors) 

  • Many mothers who become pregnant during their adolescent years do not finish school after giving birth. To address this issue, there are schools in the United States that offer alternative educational programs for adolescent parents, which are intended to be more flexible with their child bearing responsibilities and schedule. These programs include online classes, night classes, and tutoring hours. 

• Support Systems 

  • Although not guaranteed for every adolescent parent, having a support system may be very helpful when raising a child at a young age. Some teenagers receive assistance with child bearing responsibilities, living situations, or finances from family members or friends. When help is received, the young parents are given more of a chance to finish their education or maintain a job. 

• Resource Centers (donations)

  • There are resource centers for adolescent parents nationwide. These organizations offer support, resources, and health care for the young family. 

• Alternate Options

  • When an adolescent aged girl becomes pregnant, she may decide that she is not ready to become a mother. Health care professionals are available and willing to talk to pregnant teenagers about alternate options for the child. 

 

Needs

• Financial Assistance

  • Teenage mothers are more likely to live in poverty and depend on public assistance. Being less likely to finish their education leads them to jobs that don't pay as well. This trend is likely to continue to the child growing up to live in poverty as well.

• Social Supports

  • Relationships with parents may be strained with teen pregnancy which can limit access to childcare and assistance from parents. Relationships may also be weakened with friends if they do not spend as much time together after the child is born.

• Education/Career Options 

  • Teen parents are less likely to continue their education which leads them to fewer career options. More support in this area would increase their chance to stay out of poverty and provide for their child. ​

• Access to Childcare

  • Limited access to childcare ​can affect a teen parent's ability to maintain a job due to having to stay home with the child. This can also limit income and cause him or her to be in poverty.

• Housing

  • There is a lack of housing options in some communities for teen parents due to expenses and credit checks. It is more difficult for younger individuals to get housing approved due to age and lack of credit history.​

 

Occupational Performance Impairments

• Personal device care: Limited knowledge on the use of contraceptive devices. 

• Sexual activity: Decreased knowledge of contraception, safety, and health in relation to sexual relationships.

• Care of pets: Pets may add additional stressors. The individual may not be able to afford food or resources for their pet if they are having financial strains when caring for their child.

• Child rearing: May have limited access to childcare or limited knowledge in caring for children in different developmental stages. 

• Driving and community mobility: May have limited access to a vehicle or method of transportation to travel in the community for doctors appointments, groceries, childcare, or other errands.

• Financial management: Lack of knowledge on budgeting and planning for long- and short-term financial goals; inability to maintain a job due to unfinished education or no access to childcare can increase poverty rate.

• Health management and maintenance: May have less of a focus on personal physical health, nutrition, and medication routines because he or she is focused on caring for the child. 

• Home establishment and management: May have difficulty obtaining and maintaining a place to live or have limited financial support for repairs and other needs for the home.

• Meal preparation and cleanup: May have limited time and/or energy to prepare a well-balanced and nutritious meal for self and child. 

• Religious and spiritual activities and expression: May feel ashamed or unwelcome if religious affiliation disagrees with teen parenthood.

• Safety and emergency maintenance: May have an inability to recognize hazardous and unsafe situations or lack of knowledge in replacing safety items in the home such as smoke alarms, outlets plugs, and light bulbs.

• Rest: May have decreased rest for due to child’s wake and sleep schedule.

• Sleep preparation: Individual may not have proper sleep hygiene due to preparing the child for sleep or having little energy at the end of the day.

• Sleep participation: Individual may wake up multiple times throughout the night to tend to baby, which disrupts sleep and can cause decreased energy throughout the day.

• Education: Parent may have limited access to education due to not finding childcare or have a lack of knowledge on how to access alternate education programs. 

• Work: Parent may have limited access to work due to not finding childcare or having a lack of knowledge on how to apply for jobs and complete steps to get a job.

• Leisure: May have less time to participate and explore leisure opportunities.

• Social participation: Relationships with parents, friends, or others may be weakened due to disagreements and/or less time available to spend together.

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Sociopolitical Considerations

• Voting age- community social participation 

  • The United States voting age is 18 years old. If a teenager under the age of 18 has a child, they are unable to voice their parental opinion or vote for the rights they believe their child should have.  

• The Abortion Law

  • Several states in the United States have either passed or are considering passing the Abortion law, which bans abortions from the point the doctor is able to detect a heart beat, typically at 6 weeks. This law would require young teenagers to have their baby regardless of their age. 

• Abstinence-only education issues

  • "Approximately 82% of a randomly selected nationally representative sample of U.S. adults aged 18 to 83 years supported comprehensive programs that teach students about both abstinence and other methods of preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases" (Stanger-Hall & Hall, 2011). 

    • When compared to Europe, the U.S. has more difficult access to sexual health information and services which may contribute to the higher rate of teen pregnancies. 

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Organizations

• Planned Parenthood 

  • Offers options that teenagers have when they find out they are pregnant and provides pregnancy testing, OBGYN services, STD testing, emergency contraception, treatment vaccines, and general health care.

• Birthright International

  • Helps women cope with feelings, pressure, and stress that come along with an unplanned pregnancy and provide resources including pregnancy testing, referrals to necessary resources, prenatal care information, and more. 

• Generation Her

  • Provides a positive environment without judgment to offer life skills programs for teen mothers and pregnant teens. Works with educational and career goals while providing support through mentos and community of teenage mothers. Practice financial budgeting, job interviewing, money management, resume building, self defense, cooking, nutrition, relationship workshops, stress and anger management, and more.

• Covenant House

  • Helps homeless, pregnant teenagers create a plan for their future through classes that teach parenting skills and child-bearing tips. Also offer free on-site day care so teen moms can finish their education or maintain a job.

• Healthy Teen Network

  • Provides shelter and resources to pregnant teenagers and offer a listening ear and advocate for teens that don’t know where to turn.