Teenage Pregnancy Research Report - 3p Consulting

such as peer parent education and support groups.” 16To this end, at least one maternity hospital in all statesoperates specific clinics for pregnant teens and some alsooffer outreach programs that have the aim of increasingaccess to maternity services. However, despite efforts toovercome barriers to access, very vulnerable groups suchas Aboriginal teens, very young pregnant teens (under16 years of age), those who live in rural or remote areas,and those with mental health and drug and alcohol issuesare still significant under-users of health care and remainmost at risk of poor outcomes. Impacting on entrencheddisadvantage remains a difficult area for both mainstreamservices and targeted service models.Accessing serviceswith the highest teenage conception rates in the country.Of note here, one of the program objectives was aimedat improving a range of health issues for pregnantteenagers and in particular to provide services that wouldincrease rates of early access to antenatal care (beforethe 14th week of their pregnancy) and decrease smoking.Additionally they sought to improve the levels of healthinformation provided to young women during pregnancyand postnatally. The overall aim of the health componentof the program was to reduce the incidence of low birthweight babies.The evaluation report found that none of the abovehealth objectives had been met or had only been met inpart. Further, they found that accessing antenatal careby 14 weeks was an unrealistic timeframe given thecircumstances associated with early pregnancy for manyteenagers. Lastly, the report outlined the concerns raisedby a number of service providers in relation to addressingsmoking rates of mothers as it was considered aninappropriate and alienating target to focus on, particularlyearly in establishing the relationship and by doing so itwas likely to put at risk any rapport and trust relationshipthey had developed with the teen client. 15Australia has a similar experience with both implementingteenage-specific service models and with adverse teenagematernal and child outcomes. The Royal AustralianCollege of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists Standardsof Maternity Care states, “where possible, specialistservices should be provided for pregnant teenagers,Considerable work has been undertaken to understandthe barriers for young people to accessing services thatcan benefit them. It is clear from feedback from youngpeople that the crux of successful service is a positiverelationship between the young woman and her serviceproviders. Once a relationship is established, youngwomen will access targeted interventions as long as theyfeel respected and consulted.The Australian Government’s National Youth AffairsResearch Scheme report Barriers to Service Deliveryfor Young Pregnant Women and Mothers’ for example,outlines the qualities needed on the part of serviceproviders to develop and nurture a trusted relationshipwith young women. 17 These include:• Non-judgemental attitudes;• Active listening;• Knowledge of the young woman and hercircumstances;• Warmth and friendliness;• Appreciation (praise) for young women’s parentingability;• Respect;• Providing accurate information;• Explaining procedures;• Continuity of care wherever possible;• Confidentiality; and• Smiling.In addition to these individual personal practice qualities,service delivery models that access difficult-to-reach61