Staying in School in Martinsville

The Martinsville Bulletin (Martinsville, Virginia) had a recent article titled "Teen Pregnancy Targeted" saying that the town of Martinsville has a teen pregnancy rate more than double the state average:

Kizner said that in Martinsville for every 1,000 females aged 15-17, 66 are pregnant (based on live-birth statistics). The state average is 27 out of 1,000. Henry County’s teenage pregnancy rate is 40 out of 1,000. He was quoting statistics for 2006 (the most recent available) from the Annie E. Casey Foundation. Sixty-six percent of babies born in Martinsville have unwed mothers, compared with 34 percent for the state and 52 percent for Henry County, he said.

Note that these statistics are for a very narrow range of teens (15-17) instead of ages 13-19, and that they do not distinguish married teens from unmarried teens. It can be hard sometimes to determine if apples are being compared to apples in short quotes like these, but let's assume that the speakers performed their due diligence to provide accurate comparisions.

What I found really interesting is that School Superintendent Scott Kizner is focused on helping these young mothers finish their secondary education so that they are prepared to enter the workforce and help themselves and the depressed Martinsville community! He doesn't berate teens or say that more money needs to be spent on prevention-only. He recognizes that some teens will get pregnant and that helping them finish secondary education helps everyone - the mother, her child(ren), and the community. To this end, he is trying to get help to create flexible education opportunities so that young mothers do not drop out of school simply because they become pregnant.

Does your community have opportunities for your daughter to finish her secondary education? Fairfax County, Viriginia, has an alternative high school and other programs available... what does your county offer?

Finally, Kizner knows that some people will believe “this will encourage teenagers to have babies if we help them too much." What's your opinion on this? Does the presence of social services encourage teens to get pregnant? If help is not present, would that simply raise the abortion rate instead of preventing pregnancy? Is help with education "too much" help for teens? What services would you provide if you were in charge, and what services would you deny? Leave us a comment with your thoughts!

Premature birth, low birth weight

The Northwest Herald, a local newspaper for McHenry County, Illinois, recently had an article titled "Pop Culture, Reality Contrast on Teen Pregnancy". One comment in the article is the following:

Pregnant teens are less likely than older women to receive good prenatal care and are more likely to be depressed during the pregnancy, said Carlos Mendez, an obstetrician and gynecologist with Centegra Health System. Teenagers’ babies are more likely to be born prematurely, to have low birth weight, and to die shortly after birth, he said.

Please help your pregnant teen or college student get prenatal care as soon as possible. Be alert to signs of depression in your daughter, and talk to her about her feelings. With your daughter, do research on how she can improve the health of her baby before birth so that her child is less likely to be born prematurely and less likely to have low birth weight.

Access to prenatal care

Here in Prince William County (where Chalfont House is located), Virginia, the Board of Supervisors approved an illegal immigration crackdown in October 2007. This has apparently begun having an impact on illegal Hispanics who have sought prenatal care, according to this article by the Examiner even though the law does not reduce illegal's access to prenatal care. Always a highly charged issue, the article drew heated comments on both sides.

Women need to seek prenatal care as soon as they discover they are pregnant, according to this WebMD article. So even if the pregnant woman is considering an abortion (tell the receptionist if this is the case so that they can try to get you in sooner), she should go to a doctor for a prenatal exam... the doctor can determine how far along she is, whether the pregnancy is tubal (2% of all pregnancies are!), and can test for STDs that may need immediate treatment.

Teen Pregnancy Is Only A Tragedy If You Make It One

Merriam-Webster defines a tragedy as a disasterous event. Pregnancy does not have to be a tragedy, a disasterous event. Will there be changes to life? Absolutely. But there are expected and unexpected changes to all aspects of a life. A married couple planning a pregnancy may still feel overwhelmed by the changes in their lives when they successfully get pregnant. Change itself is not a disaster. How we react to change of any kind, pregnancy included, is what defines the emotional impact of the event.

Scott Lyons wrote an opinion article for "Indian Country Today" called "Teen Pregnancy is not a tragedy". He mentions that his 18-year old daughter, a senior in high school, is pregnant and planning to parent the child after considering both adoption and abortion. He says, "as her father, I left such decisions up to her and didn't try to sway her any which way. (This, I learned, is the most psychologically healthy way for any parent to respond to a pregnant teenager.)" Yet Lyons goes on to say that he believes children represent Hope and that they are sacred beings.

What do you think of this response? Do you infer that it shows no emotions about the fate of his grandchild? Do you think that this type of response is actually a cop-out? What do children represent to you?

Bobby Cutts Jr. Found Guilty

Jessie Davis was dating Bobby Cutts, and was 9 months pregnant with a girl Jessie had named Chloe, Bobby's fourth child. They also had a 2.5 year old son, Blake. Not living together, apparently Bobby came to Jessie's house to pick up Blake and he says he accidently killed Jessie when she was slow to get Blake ready to leave. The prosecuters in the case argued that Bobby was overwhelmed by debt and child support committments; defense attorneys deny this motive.

What steps can you and your daughter take to improve her physical safety?

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This blog will focus on issues you may face as the parent of a pregnant daughter who is not married.

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