The nation with the highest adolescent pregnancy and birth rates in the industrialized world has not figured out how to meet the educational needs of pregnant and parenting teens. In fact, we’re going the other direction – gutting the too-rare programs that have developed to meet the unique needs of teen parents.
We can give young women a chance to be great parents if our policies match our purported goals for future generations. Will our presidential and vice-presidential candidates support us, too?
It is past time for our country to establish programs and policies that would help young parents like me access the health care, education and economic support we need.
One third of young women who drop out of high school cite pregnancy and/or motherhood as the reason. But in recent years, special schools for pregnant students have been phased out in favor of mainstreaming. What’s next?
In Colombia, young women may be getting pregnant intentionally — but not necessarily because they want to become mothers. Sexuality education advocates differ on how best to tailor a pregnancy prevention and sexual health curriculum to reach Colombian teens.
If we measured the religious right’s agenda based on its results, it could be called the pro-risky-adolescent-sex-teen-mothers-and-more crowd.
Young mothers who struggle to stay in school need more support and resources to continue their education.
On the front lines healthcare providers and volunteers meet young women who learn prevention post-infection, who explore contraceptive options after a pregnancy and who are growing up in a culture where sophisticated media outlets sell sex as power.
While Will Okun — and a lot of other well-meaning folks — see young motherhood as “tragic” and “irresponsible,” for working-class teenage mothers it is often a considerable accomplishment.
A new reproductive health movement must include language about mothering with dignity. For vulnerable mothers, mothering with dignity means opportunities to heal from sexual violence, child welfare practices, education, and alternative sentencing to maternal incarceration and sentencing reform.
