Teenage Pregnancy Research Report - 3p Consulting

Setting the scene - a case studyCASE STUDY 1Sexually ActiveKassie was nearly 15 years old when she had herbaby, Jayden, who is now 12 months old.Kassie was in Grade 9 when she became pregnantbut had been going to school less and less often sinceshe started going out with Josh in Grade 8. She saidthat she started “acting up” at school in Grade 7 butthat she had never really liked school and was “notmuch good at it”. When she was younger, Kassiehad attended three different primary schools due tounstable housing. Kassie and her mother had lived infive different houses before Kassie was 10. Kassie’smother had her when she was 16 years.Her last move was when her mother moved in withher stepfather to public housing. Since then the familyhas lived in the same house in an outer Launcestonsuburb. She has a half-sister and a half-brother thatwere born when she was 11 and 12 respectively.Kassie was tasked with looking after them a lot whenthey were very young, getting them up in the morningsand looking after them at night. Her mother andstepfather were busy with their own lives and issuesand left Kassie and her siblings alone on a regularbasis.She and Josh met each other when she was 14 andhe was 18 and had been together for about 6 months.Josh lived with some mates in a rental property andKassie spent most of her time there. Kassie and hermother had many arguments and disagreements andKassie moved in to Josh’s share house and stoppedgoing to school all together. Kassie says that theyhung around, drank a lot and took a raft of recreationaldrugs.Kassie reported that she and Josh never talked aboutwhat would happen when they had sex, what type ofcontraception would be best or whether they mightdecide to have children in the future. However despitenot talking about contraception with Josh, Kassiewasn’t too worried because she had been on thecontraceptive pill since she was 13 after her motherhad taken her to her family doctor because she wantedto stop her from becoming pregnant. Since she movedin with Josh, filling the prescription and rememberingto take the pill regularly was more difficult. Herknowledge of sexual health and contraception camevia her mother and from talking to her friends. She hasonly vague and slightly uncomfortable memories ofsex education classes at school prior to her droppingout.Kassie went to headspace, a youth drop-in centre,for a pregnancy test because she felt sick. When thetest was positive she told Josh the news first and thenher mother. Kassie was shocked at the news. Sheacknowledges that she forgot to take the pill somedays but she thought it would be OK because herdoctor had told her that hormones from the pill stay inthe body for several months.Her mother thought she should have a termination andso did Josh but between the time of her pregnancytest, and thinking about what to do, she was over12 weeks pregnant and “it was too late”. Althoughshe had thought that she might like to have a babysometime in the future Kassie wasn’t happy aboutbeing pregnant at 14. However while trying to makeup her mind she reflected that she would be good atlooking after a baby because she had been caringfor her siblings since they were babies. She reportsthis experience as something she enjoyed and thatshe felt important and useful while caring for them.She was worried about where her life was going andknew that focusing on her baby would give her themotivation to change her habits.PregnancyWhen she realised that she was going to have a babyKassie was aware that she had to change her life styleso she could look after her growing baby. She knewthat meant she should stop drinking alcohol, smokingtobacco, using illicit drugs and try to eat a healthy diet.She also knew that she needed regular antenatal care.The headspace nurse referred her to the LauncestonGeneral Hospital’s specialist teenage antenatal clinicand she went with a friend for the first visit.She stopped drinking and cut down on smokingcigarettes but still used cannabis with Josh. She alsocut back on take away food. Her relationship with Joshwas volatile, occasionally violent, and he continued togo out with his mates. However they decided to movein with Josh’s family as a temporary measure whilethey tried to find a place before they had their baby.29