reproductive health services for adolescents - Pathfinder International

Specific Objective #4: Discuss parenting and infant feeding
Module 16/Unit 12
CONTENT
Knowledge/Attitudes/Skills
WHAT DO ADOLESCENT PARENTS
FEEL
For an adolescent mother or couple, child
rearing presents many difficulties.
There is a higher risk of infant morbidity
and mortality. These may be due to
biological factors or to poor parental care.
• Adolescents may feel inadequate in
caring for an infant and anxious about
the baby’s health.
• They may feel resentment or
depression over their loss of leisure
and the great increase in
responsibility.
• The infant care needed may prevent
the parents from improving
economically and/or educationally.
• Isolation from peers, crowded living
conditions, and dependence on
others, with consequent resentment,
are additional hazards.
WHAT ADOLESCENT FATHERS NEED
• Acceptance and integration into preand
postnatal services.
• Counseling about the benefits of
sound sexual/RH practices, including
condom use.
• Exposure to positive models of, or
information about, effective parenting.
• Encouragement to learn effective
parenting skills, such as feeding,
Training/Learning Methods
(Time Required)
BRAINSTORMING AND DISCUSSION
(15 MIN.)
The trainer should:
• Divide a flipchart into 2 columns.
• Label one column “Adolescent
Fathers” and label the other
“Adolescent Mothers.”
• Ask Px to brainstorm how they think
new adolescent parents might feel.
• Write their answers on a flip chart.
• Ask Px to brainstorm what they think
are the needs of adolescent mothers
and fathers. Keep the ideas flowing
freely without screening them.
• After all of the ideas are given,
summarize them and add any ideas
that did not come up during the
brainstorming.
Ask Px, how do you think your clinic
can support these needs or link
adolescents with other people or
services that can support them
GROUP WORK AND DISCUSSION
(30 MIN.)
• Divide Px into 2 groups.
• Ask one group to decide what
information they could give
adolescent parents that would help
them to become good parents.
• Ask the other group to decide what
information they would give
Pathfinder International
175
Adolescent Curriculum