Teenage Pregnancy Research Report - 3p Consulting

suggests that although the majority of the teenagers’home environments where they were bringing up theirbabies were supportive, antenatal education was notconsidered important. Other studies suggest that ifteenagers attended antenatal classes, they were morelikely to have adequate antenatal care (Covington etal, 1998; Rozette et al, 2000; Timberlake et al, 1987).The majority of teenagers would have been more likelyto attend antenatal classes if they had coincided withtheir visits to the clinic, so timing was an issue. Thismay be because teenagers have difficulty with travel/transport. Their views were that early evening classeswould be more appropriate than afternoon onesbecause of school and work commitments. Pregnantteenagers have a high school drop-out rate and oftenmiss out on further education or gainful employment(McVeigh and Smith, 2000) – efforts should be madeto encourage teenagers to continue their education toachieve their potential.Teenagers who did attend felt it was important to takepart in classes within their own age group, rather thanwith older women because they felt stigmatised andself-conscious (Rozette et al, 2000). They felt morerapport with their peers because of their sharedcircumstances. Such a class may provide a moreconducive atmosphere in which to make friends,take part and feel less isolated. If they felt more ableto share their real uncertainties and express theirfeelings, they would feel more secure.ConclusionIt is imperative that the components of antenatal classesaddress teenagers’ needs, incorporating issuessuch as sexual health and contraception. Factorsgoverning non-attendance must be addressed. Fearof stigmatisation due to age played an important part,and solutions should be developed to address this. Itis crucial that antenatal care is focused specifically forteenagers, taking into account their requirements andviews about it. Therefore, planned provision, withinthe maternity services, of appropriate classes shouldbe developed for teenagers, and encouragement toattend these should be paramount.AcknowledgementThis information was a direct reference from http://www.rcm.org.uk/midwives/features/i-felt-like-theywere-all-kind-of-staring-at-me/Crisis issuesAs outlined earlier, many pregnant teens contend with arange of significant issues on a day-to-day basis whilepreparing for motherhood and, although the majority ofthese issues pre-exist pregnancy, they become morecritical to address during pregnancy. While the individualcircumstances vary, nearly all the common crisis issuesfall under the following themes:• Relationship difficulties including domestic or familyviolence and family estrangement;• The threat of homelessness or unstable housingsituations; and• Poverty.As opposed to influencing health outcomes or changingbehavioural patterns, evidence shows that targetedsupport services are, however, able to make a measurabledifference to these crisis issues. The Sure Start Plusevaluation report showed that services are able to effectchange around practical issues such as housing andbenefits, and/or social and emotional health including:• Domestic violence issues;• Housing issues;• Accessing benefits and entitlements; and• Improving family relationships, especially relationsbetween young women and their mothers. 22More detailed discussion of crisis issues is undertaken inthe Local Context.66