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Teen Parent

Youth Support Youth Support A Multi facetted service …

Teen Parent

Looking BackLooking Back

30 years ago started professional work with adolescents

20 years ago study cohort began

Youth Support arose from this

A Positive OutcomeA Positive Outcome

Early WorkEarly Work

The first study was produced in 1986.

Concerns and issues at that stage fell into the following categories –

Rates and ReasonsRates and ReasonsStatistical analyses compared teen fertility to that of older women

0 20 40

UK

Por

Ire

DDR

Lux

Bel

Den

Ita

Teenage Fertility in Europe(Births/1,000 women 15-19) WHO 1992

With time this shifted to comparisons across cultures

Why?Why?

Somewhere buried in the argument surrounding contraception and the young – many of the ‘real’ issues got lost –

It’s not just sex and it’s not just contraception.

Scientific PhaseScientific Phase

Physical risks, antenatal care and the lack of it and whether young mothers could be as good parents as older women

It shouldn’t be allowed

Higher Perinatal Mortality

Increased level of Prematurity and Low birth Weight

Poor Antenatal Care

Humanitarian PhaseHumanitarian Phase

A Culture of Poverty In 1986 and in 1987 International Medical Women’s

Federation meeting in Sorrento, Italy presented paper entitled ‘ Teenage Pregnancy - a culture of poverty’

it was with dismay that I found myself writing about the same subject ten years later in 1997 …

now in the new millennium - nothing has changed.

A Culture of PovertyA Culture of Poverty

Governments repeatedly talk of policies to ‘reduce teenage pregnancy rates’ ..

Attacking the symptom instead of the disease of deprivation and poverty

Poor housing

Overcrowding

Unemployment

Family LifeFamily Life

Typical pregnant girl is a member of a large single parent family

70% do not live with both natural parents16% have no mother65% have no father.

20% of girls in care.

DisadvantageDisadvantage

Disadvantaged circumstances influence prevalence of :-

dietary inadequacy antenatal anaemia perinatal mortality and low

birthweight

A Spiral of DeprivationA Spiral of Deprivation Early pregnancy can

result in a spiral of social deprivation

Why does the situation persist?Why does the situation persist?

So why does the situation persist and the problems repeat from generation to generation ?

after 15 years - 10% still have no housing

Training and work opportunities are poor

Baby FathersBaby Fathers

Baby fathers fade out of the picture

0

20

40

60

80

birth 1yr 2yr 5yr 10yr 15yrTime since first birth

Baby FathersPercent still in touch

Family PatternsFamily Patterns A third of pregnant schoolgirls

are following in the pattern of their mothers - that means that two thirds do not.

Hence it is not so much teenage pregnancy that forms the cycle of trans-generational repetition - but the deprivation that fosters early childbirth.

Deprivation PregnancyDeprivation Pregnancy what is the mechanism

whereby deprived circumstances lead to pregnancy? Emotional psychological issues are the vehicle.

Deprivation Low Self WorthDeprivation Low Self Worth

Deprivation lowers self worth, expectations and instils a sense of inability to achieve a positive future - parenthood restores self image raises expectations and provides a tangible achievement - a baby

The Self Esteem StudyThe Self Esteem Study A self esteem measure

A 'deprivation score' looking at life experiences

A 'sexual' scale estimating degree of sexual experience or sexual trauma

Self EsteemSelf Esteem Pregnancy partially

protects the individual from threats to self worth but the effect is temporary

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

Self E

ste

em

Score

0-5 6-10 11-15 16-20Deprivation Score Generall

pregnant

mothers

Deprivation and Self Esteem

Why is pregnancy such a potent source of self value?Why is pregnancy such a potent source of self value?

In pregnancy a girl identifies with the ideal mother which she never had and can never be.

8

10

12

14

16

18

20

22

24

Self E

ste

em

Score

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 'Harmful' Sexual experiences score

pregnant

mothers

Sexual Experiences and Self Worth

Alternative Value SystemAlternative Value System

... Seen from the young girl's viewpoint, pregnancy may not be so undesirable. Certainly it brings heartache and hardship, the extent of which should not be underestimated, but for under-privileged girls with little education and non existent job prospects, motherhood is a fulfilment.

Repetitive PatternsRepetitive Patterns Why do girls ‘repeat’ their pregnancy experiences?

Girls with multiple relationships can progress from one relationship to another and repeat the experience without seeming to ‘learn’ from the previous situation

Recovery from traumaRecovery from trauma

IMPACT LATE RESOLUTION

 

EARLY STAGE

Pregnancy as a Maturation Experience. Pregnancy as a Maturation Experience.

•The pregnant girl can identify with the foetus and concretise her experience of the ‘inner child’ in her developing baby; this allows her another chance to be ‘loved this time’ by the ‘ideal’ mother.

•There are situations where pregnancy seems to afford an opportunity for ‘psychic growth’ maturation and personal development.

Long Terms Study 15+ yearsLong Terms Study 15+ years

(12.00%)

(20.00%)

(68.00%)

Repeat PregnanciesChild Bearing Patterns

Singlepregnancy

Laterepeater

Constantrepeater

Patterns of Relationships Patterns of Relationships

50% of girls had only one significant relationship in their lives.

single bf (39.00%)

multiple bf (49.00%)

early sub (12.00%)

RelationshipsNumber of partners

Care system Care system Girls in the care

system had more pregnancies

Their boyfriends stayed around for shorter periods.

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

5yr 10yr 15yrYears since birth of child

Not in careIn Care

Baby FathersPercent still in touch

Children in CareChildren in Care

Girls who had been in care had more of their children removed and fared worse on every parameter researched

0

5

10

15

20

5yr 10yr 15yr

Not in careIn care

Offspring in care

Children – Problems in CareChildren – Problems in Care

Their children had more problems at five, ten and fifteen years. First born males fared worst.

0

10

20

30

40

50

not care in care

Physical Both Emotional

ChildrenProblems at 5 yrs

0

10

20

30

40

not care in care

Physical Both Emotional

ChildrenProblems at 10 yrs

0

10

20

30

40

50

not care in care

Physical Both Emotional

ChildrenProblems at 15 yrs

Youth Support HouseYouth Support House

YSH

Teen Parent

Reason for Admission

Pregnant 21% Parenting difficulties 97% Mental Health problem 40% Learning disability 9%

Past History Residents

Abuse Physical abuse -79% (54) Sexual abuse - 64%(20) Incest 30% (4)

Self Harm 35%

Substance abuseDrugs 35% Alcohol 28%

Crime and violenceHistory of criminal activities 41% Prostitution 14%

Residential Children

Neonatal Problems– Died 3 – SIDS (cot death) 2 – Foetal Alcohol 8 – Drug withdrawal 7

Children - 91% Abused

Nature of abuseemotional 81 neglect 83 failure to thrive 65 sexual abuse 14

Presentationbruising 45 burn 7 fracture 7 head injury 6 suffocation 4 munchausen 6

Prognosis - Adult FactorsResidents Rehabilitated Together

% of total % RehabilitatedAll cases 100 42 Violent Partner 59 45 Abused 80 41 Learning Disability 9 38 Alcohol 29 36 Drugs 37 34 In care 67 33 crime 39 32 History of violence 60 31 Self harm 36 30 Personality Disorder 57 28 Prostitution 15 23 Severe PD:Psychopathic 26 9