Editor's Note: This post was updated at 1:06 pm on July 1, 2009 to correct a minor error in the earlier text.
The bond between a parent and child is the primary bond, the foundation for the rest of the child’s life. The presence or absence of this bond determines much about the child’s resiliency and what kind of adult they will grow up to be. For some, being a parent who enables bonding is a natural gift, often learned from one’s own parents. For others it is a real challenge. If our mother was unable to bond with us due, for example, to depression, addiction, narcissism, extreme stress or immaturity, it will be extremely difficult for a bond to develop.
Georgia has the 10th highest teen birth rate in the US and the second highest repeat birth rate among teen mothers. To combat the problem the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Teen Pregnancy Prevention launched a community-based doula program.
While not impossible, it is especially challenging for teenage parents to develop bonds with their children. A high percent of them were themselves children of teenage parents and have never experienced appropriate parenting. Eighty percent of teen mothers were already living with the stultifying stresses of poverty long before they became pregnant. Without early and on-going interventions, their early parenthood virtually guarantees that they and their children will remain vulnerable and mired in poverty. Children born to teens have less supportive and stimulating environments, poorer health, lower cognitive development, and worse educational outcomes.
If we as a nation are to break the cycle of poverty, crime and the growing underclass of young people ill equipped to be productive citizens, we need to not only implement effective programs to prevent teen pregnancy, but we must also help those who have already given birth so that they become effective, nurturing, bonding parents.
This is why, a number of years ago, I brought the “Community-Based Doula Program” to Georgia where it has been under the wing of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP).
A doula is a birth assistant who provides emotional and physical support to the mother and her family during labor and delivery. Our doulas, however, go beyond the call of the traditional doula. Many times they take on the role of mother, big sister, friend, counselor, social worker, advocate, life coach and more. The doulas make weekly home visits to pregnant teens and their families starting in the third trimester and up to one year after the birth of their baby. They help young mothers (and often times fathers) understand the birth process, and support them during labor and delivery. So many of these young parents don’t know what a real relationship feels like, but through their example, the Doulas model for the mothers and fathers how to be in relationship, how to bond. This is what transforms the young parents forever and gives their babies a better chance in life.
The Community-Base Doula Program has produced some amazing results including c-section rates nearly half the national rate and breastfeeding initiation rates 25% greater than the national average. It’s harder to quantify parental bonding, but we listen to what the young mothers in the program have to say. “I don’t really have a support system anymore,” says one girl, “but I can always call my doula because she still comes around and helps me when I need her.”
Another young mother says, “I had a lot of situations when I just wanted to give up. I wanted to give up on school and I wanted to give up on finding the baby’s daddy. My doula told me to stick in there. You going to get it. Don’t just let it go.” “Don’t just let it go.”
Profound words from a young woman who, under different circumstances, might have given up. When I see the results of our Community-Based Doula Program I know that if a Doula was a medicine, it would be unethical not to provide it. My great hope is that one day every Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program in the country will include a Doula Program. Funded through the Department of Agriculture, WIC serves the population of poor, often teen mothers but as currently implemented, WIC only address the nutritional needs of disenfranchised parents. The addition of a Doula component isn’t rocket science and it would create jobs for an army of community women who are chronically underemployed, thereby changing their lives along with the lives of the young parents and their children. A Win/Win/Win as I see it. President Obama take heed!
By the way, this isn’t some “charity work” we’re doing for others. This has a direct effect on every one of us whatever our socio-economic status. Think about it: Reducing crime and poverty and ensuring that we have an educated, stable work force has a direct effect on you and me and the future of our country. And we cannot do any of it without reducing teen pregnancy and the dysfunctional parenting that so often accompanies it.
]]>Today, May 6th is the National Day to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. It provides U.S. citizens an opportunity to engage in a national dialogue centered on educating, engaging and empowering our youth by investing in them. This is an urgently needed conversation.
After more than a decade of dramatic decline in adolescent pregnancy and birth rates, the United States has unexpectedly experienced increases in 2006 and 2007. Even with the decline, our nation still ranks first in adolescent pregnancy and birth rates in comparison to other industrialized countries (almost double the next highest country!). The reality is sobering: in the United States one in three girls will become pregnant before age 20, totaling more than 750,000 girls per year.
Michele Ozumba, President of the Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention, answers questions about teen pregnancy and what actually works to prevent it.
In Georgia, some advocates and service providers are having isolated successes, but the majority of programs are struggling for the resources, support and training efforts necessary to have a sustainable impact. We can no longer waste time and money. Every day, more than 2,000 girls in America, age 15-19, give birth - in the wealthiest, most educated nation in the world. Neither you nor I should accept this statistic.
My response has, and will always be, accurate and age-appropriate adolescent pregnancy prevention must be a priority at the state and federal levels. There must be a systemic approach where health care providers, teachers, after-school programs, government agencies, public health officials, parents and young people are working together with a shared vision and clearly identifiable outcomes, using proven practices and curricula.
Fortunately, in a speech last week marking his first 100 days in office, President Obama commented on forming a Presidential task force to investigate and provide recommendations on reducing unintended pregnancies, especially among teens. I hope his Administration will utilize the scientific information already widely available to fund programs that work reduce teen pregnancies, HIV and STDs and teach young people to make healthy, responsible choices. The return on the investment will benefit us all.
Realistically, the President cannot do it alone. If adolescent pregnancy prevention is to become a priority, then our strategy, as advocates, must contain two key elements: civic engagement and education. The Georgia Campaign for Adolescent Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP), the state-wide organization I founded, has as its mission to eliminate teen pregnancy in Georgia and is doing so in a unique and dynamic way. Starting today, G-CAPP will embark on a groundbreaking, multi-tiered social mobilization campaign to unify and amplify the voices of concerned individuals. We are launching www.gpower2009.org to bring together concerned people who want to see teen pregnancy rates at zero.
www.gpower2009.org connects organizations, stakeholders and allies in a virtual meeting room where information and ideas can be shared, discussed and utilized. It is a powerful tool with unlimited potential. If you listen to the video comments of G-CAPP President and CEO Michele Ozumba, it becomes evident why "gPOWER" is needed. Our young men and women need to be heard and we need to listen. "gPOWER" provides us the space to do both.
Adolescent pregnancy prevention is an American issue. We must invest in the future of young people to have literate healthy, productive, and economically self-sustaining citizens.
Join the movement today. Learn the facts, lend your voice and get involved.
You have the POWER to make a difference! www.gpower2009.org
]]>It's about time we make the well-being of our young people more important than ideology and politics. As a country, we benefit from investing in their future by investing in teen pregnancy prevention. Our youth deserve the opportunity to complete their high school and college education, free of early parenthood. Their future children deserve the opportunity to grow up in financially and emotionally stable homes. Our communities benefit from healthy, productive, well-prepared young people.
We can make a difference by advocating
for effective sex education. The Title V funding for abstinence-only
programs is up for reauthorization by Congress. Since 1982, the US government
has allocated $3.6
billion to abstinence only-until-marriage
programs and has received a dismal return on its investment. And
not surprisingly - these programs have very little evidence of effectiveness. Mathematica Policy Research conducted a national evaluation of abstinence-only
programs and its findings show abstinence-only programs have no
beneficial impact on whether young people abstain from sex, delay sexual
activity, or reduce the number of sexual partners. This lack of
evidence demands we take a different approach to sexual health education.
The US has the highest teen birth rate of all industrialized nations
at 41.9 per 1,000 girls age 15-19. By comparison,
the next closest country is the United Kingdom at 26.7 per 1,000.
In my home state of Georgia, the state government has received $22.4 million in federal funding for abstinence-only programs over the last two years. Georgia's spending on abstinence-only programs is two times the amount of funds just approved by the state legislature for funding teen centers, which provide critical services including prevention education, counseling, and services for sexually active youth.
In the face of an aggressive abstinence-only industry, three students in Savannah, GA fight to resist five more years of government funding for these ineffective programs in their public schools. A teacher of abstinence education for twenty years admits in an on camera interview that comprehensive sex education would be a better way to combat some of the highest teen birth rates in the country.
Georgia ranks 10th
nationally in teen birth
rates at 54.2 per 1,000 girls age 15-19. Georgia is 2nd
in repeat pregnancies, 6th in chlamydia, 5th in
gonorrhea, 3rd in syphilis and 9th in AIDS cases.
All told, abstinence-only education, as a program to safeguard young
people from high-risk behavior that leads to unintended outcomes, has
failed miserably. The persistent status of Georgia among the top
10 worst states for reproductive and sexual health outcomes in teens
illustrates the shortcomings of a policy that insists on teaching abstinence-only-until-marriage as the core sex education strategy.
In 1995, when Georgia had the highest
teen pregnancy rate in the US, I founded The Georgia Campaign for Adolescent
Pregnancy Prevention (G-CAPP). G-CAPP brings together community and
school leaders, health officials, and students to advocate for age appropriate,
evidence-based sex education curricula within local schools and federal
policy to fund comprehensive sex education programs.
Our young people are clamoring for
sex education. Time and time again, we hear from high school students
saying the sex education they receive is inadequate, it comes too late,
and it does not teach them the skills they need to act responsibly.
In Savannah, Georgia, where the teen
pregnancy rates are more than double the US rates, three teens are fighting
to replace the harmful abstinence-only-until marriage program "Choosing
the Best" in their school district with comprehensive sex education.
They are rightfully concerned that their school district has signed
on for five more years of the same ineffective curriculum.
G-CAPP is working with 30 youth from around the state to get their voices heard. The Georgia Student Youth Leadership Council (SYLC) is a group of dynamic young people who are actively engaged in mobilizing other youth advocates to bring attention to the need for better sex education. Our work is part of a collective movement in the Southeast region, which has the highest rate of teen pregnancy. In Mississippi, the House adopted HB 808 which would require comprehensive sex education to be taught in grades K through 12. The bill died in the Senate, but a major victory nonetheless. In North Carolina, HB 88 would require schools to offer both abstinence-only and comprehensive sex education giving parents the ability to decide which program their child would participate in. The bill is expected to go before the House for a vote. In Texas, a recent report showing the ineffectiveness of abstinence-only programs stated "our schools are failing Texas families by turning out generations of sexually illiterate young people at a time of high rates of teen pregnancy and STDs." In Florida, SIECUS released a similar report.
The past administrations have wasted opportunities to use our government resources to teach our young people how to make good decisions about their health. It is time to we advocate for policies and programs capable of addressing the root causes of adolescent pregnancy and teach our young people the skills they need to live healthy, productive lives. Our future depends on it.
Right now we have a great opportunity to ensure that our government use our resources wisely, by asking Congress to zero out Title V funding and support the REAL Act. This act will allow states to receive funding to implement effective sex education programs that give our young people the tools to make informed decisions about their well-being and build healthy relationships. I know our young people will be prepared to stand up and speak out, will you?
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