reproductive health services for adolescents - Pathfinder International

Module 16/Unit 12
CONTENT
Knowledge/Attitudes/Skills
Training/Learning Methods
(Time Required)
day for the rest of her pregnancy.
Also, give folic acid 500 microgram
(mcg) each day.
• Check for other causes of anemia,
such as parasites.
• At each visit, check to make sure she
is taking her iron pills.
Pregnancy Induced Hypertension
(pre-eclampsia)
• Ask if she has had any: epigastric
pain (heart burn) not related to
malaria, headaches, visual problems
(double vision, partial vision, rings
around lights), and edema or swelling
of hands, face, and feet.
• Take her blood pressure at every
visit. A normal blood pressure should
be below 140/90. If the BP is
elevated, check reflexes and urine.
Nutritional Counseling
• Adolescents are not usually very
knowledgeable about good nutrition.
Nutritional advice must consider both
the fetus and the mother since they
compete for the same nutrients.
• Adolescents stop growing in height
about 4 years after menarche. If the
pregnant adolescent has not stopped
growing, she will need a higher
nutrient intake than an adolescent
who has completed growth.
• Take a diet history. Ask her what she
ate yesterday and how much.
• Decide whether you think her diet is
adequate.
Pathfinder International
160
Adolescent Curriculum