I am currently working with 5 teenage moms and 2 pregnant ones. It's my favorite part of my job.
We meet one-on-one, but we also have a Mom's Support Group that meets once a week after school. A co-worker and I bring them together to share stories, advice and support.
This picture is from one of our group meetings that was a baby shower with items donated by school staff. It was so fun to watch some of the young mothers guide the soon-to-be-mothers around the different things they might need.
I've never had a baby and I've never been pregnant, but armed What To Expect When You're Expecting, stories from friends, birthing videos and some experience as an adopted aunt, I've tried to make myself useful.
I have so much respect for these girls and for the love that they have for their babies. Their lives are hard and stressful: most of them have the support of their parents (except one girl who lives completely on her own), but the baby daddies are either absent or useless. They negotiate all these relationships and responsibilities while trying to graduate from high school.
For Mother's Day, we gave them each a flower and a note of appreciation - the only acknowledgement they received. Their lives are rarely celebrated. Yet as teen moms they carry not only the daunting consequences of past decisions, but also the hope and promise of new life in the next generation.
2 comments:
Your post puts a lot of the fears I have about motherhood in perspective. You always help me see things from a unique angle. I want to be in your New Mom's Support Group!
You thought I was done commenting, but alas, I am not.
This post makes me miss my old job working as a case manager to pregnant teens. I learned so much from the girls I worked with. Some are hot messes who need a lot of love, but it is amazing how resilient all are and how focused most become when they realize they'll be mothers.
One of my favorite resources was ehd.org. I tell all my friends about it still. :)
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