Opening the Doors

Working with young parents

Overview of the needs & issues

Pregnancy confirmation and continuation Some young women plan to become pregnant and some fall pregnant without planning to do so. 5,   7, 19

A large factor contributing to teenage pregnancy is lack of knowledge about contraception and/or lack of access to contraception. About half of all young women who fall pregnant will terminate their pregnancy. 9, 15, 21

In a study of over 1,000 young mothers (ie. those who continued a pregnancy) in NSW and ACT, 22% stated that their pregnancy was planned, 66% felt happy when they learnt of their pregnancy and 92% felt happy about the decision to continue the pregnancy. 21

Young women who suspect they may be pregnant may delay confirming their pregnancy because they face barriers in accessing health services or have concerns about their confidentiality being maintained. 17

Young people may not realise that they are eligible for their own Medicare card from the age of 15 and may believe that they have to ask their parents to use the family Medicare card and face questions as to why they want to access a doctor.

There are lower rates of bulk-billing services in rural areas so young women may be required to pay the full cost of accessing a GP upfront. Many young women may prefer to see a female GP for advice, however it can be difficult to see a female GP in rural areas as they make up only a quarter of all rural GPs. There are also far fewer women's health services in rural areas. 17, 20

It can be very difficult for young women in small or rural communities to confirm their pregnancy in a confidential way because they may be seen by others they know entering or leaving health services or purchasing a pregnancy confirmation kit from the chemist. 17, 21

Some young women may fear telling their parents about their pregnancy and delay sharing this information until they are questioned about their weight gain or until later in the pregnancy. 6, 21

The delay in seeking a confirmation of pregnancy or seeking pre-natal care contributes to poorer health outcomes for both mothers and babies. 6

There are many reasons why young women choose to have a child, these reasons may include:

• choice
• lack of information or access to contraception or pregnancy termination
• low career or educational aspirations
• unemployment, leading to a view of motherhood as an alternative achievement
• lack of love and support from their own families leading them to   have a child who they can love and who will love them in return
• peer or family modelling of young parenthood as a normal or positive decision.
• to feel a sense of worth or accomplishment. 15, 17

Young women at a higher risk of becoming young mothers
Young women who experience poverty, disadvantage or disengagement from education are far more likely to become young mothers than their peers. 10, 15, 21

Indigenous teenagers are five times more likely to become mothers than their non-Indigenous peers. 6, 16

Is young motherhood a disadvantage?
The outcomes of young motherhood vary depending on the age at which the young woman has her first child, her level of educational achievement and the level of support from friends and family.

Women who become mothers in their teenage years are far more likely to experience poverty, unemployment and low educational attainment than those who become mothers in their twenties. 10

There is a tendency for people, including service providers, to see young parenthood as a negative occurrence, yet many of our own parents and grandparents had children at a young age. Society's view of young parenthood has changed over time.

Despite the challenges that parenthood brings, the experience is a positive one for many young parents. They cherish their role as a parent and find joy and happiness from loving their child.

Best practice involves focusing on young parents who are isolated, experiencing poverty and disadvantage, or have limited education.

Negative community reactions
Young mothers can face negative stereotypes and harassment from other people in the community and fear that they will be seen as bad parents. They face both direct and indirect discrimination. 6, 19

Education
For young people the successful transition from education to employment is a critical one. Young parenthood often disrupts this transition and can lead to an increase in poverty and disadvantage in the future.

Young women who are pregnant often drop out of school due to reasons such as the perceived irrelevance of the curriculum, feeling out of place, not knowing about the support and flexibility that the school can offer, difficulty in securing child care and lack of support at home. 9

In Western Sydney the retention rate of young mothers in school is around 37%. This figure varies widely depending on the level of support and information offered by the school and the time of year that birth takes place. 9

Most schools do not have a policy on young mothers and a small number of schools may choose to keep the issue quiet, thereby encouraging the student to leave. 9

Schools which offer basic support such as counselling, information on education options and general support have a retention rate of around 28%. 9

Schools which offer proactive and additional support such as developing links and relationships with the student's family, allowing maternity leave for students with structured work goals and assisting students to find child care have a much higher retention rate of 88%. 9

The provision of information to all students, not just pregnant students, about options and support leads to a much higher retention rate. Not all students will inform the school of the pregnancy, and students and their families may assume that the student has no other choice but to leave school. These students will be unaware of their options unless a system is in place to give information to all students. 9

Many young women have already disconnected from school before they become pregnant. 5, 10, 12

The experience of motherhood usually leads to an increase in motivation and commitment to education and employment goals to provide a better future for children. However these goals become more difficult to attain without affordable and accessible transport and childcare. 10, 12

Pre- and post-natal support
Young parents may decide not to participate in pre-natal (before the birth) and post-natal (after the birth) classes and groups because of a fear of being judged by other participants for their age. When young parents do attend they may find it difficult to relate to others in the group due to differences in their ages and life experiences. 11, 15

Information about services
It can be difficult for young parents to find out about services that are available to assist them. Regular points of contact such as doctors and hospitals may not have a system in place for distributing information about community services. 11, 15

Information about parenting
All parents need practical and accessible information and support about raising their child, on topics such as nutrition, health care and normal behavioural milestones. Usually this type of information is provided by family members, friends and health services. However many young parents may not receive this kind of support. For example, young women receive less advice about breastfeeding, and subsequently young mothers are less likely to breastfeed their babies than older parents. 6

Support groups such as mothers groups and play groups typically provide a space where mothers gain baby care advice from professionals and each other. Young mums may not participate in these groups due to difficulties with transport, fear of being judged for their age or fear of being seen as a bad mother. 11

There are many baby care manuals but the cost and literacy levels required to use these puts them out of reach of some of the parents who need them most.   15

Access to services
Many services only offer centre-based activities, services and appointments. Young parents not only have to find out about what services are available but also have to make transport and child care arrangements in order to be able to use the service. There is a need for outreach services that go to places, services and communities where young parents already are.

Access to social support
Young mothers often find themselves socially isolated from their peers. Social support networks that existed prior to the birth may not continue to the same extent because young mothers cannot go out with their friends in the same way that they did before the birth. Young mothers, just like everyone else, need friends and peers to spend time with, unwind with and relate to. Your service can help young mums maintain and develop their social support networks. 7, 9

Transport
In many areas, particularly those areas that have low cost housing, public transport is often unavailable. Where transport is available it can be expensive or very difficult to negotiate with a child, pram, shopping etc. Without adequate, affordable and accessible transport it is very difficult for young mothers to keep in close contact with their family and friends. Many young mums are "stuck at home" as a result. 7,11

Young parents usually do not have access to private transport because the minimum age for a P plate licence is 17 years and many do not have the financial resources to own a motor vehicle. It can be difficult to rely on family and friends for reliable transport to education and employment. 9

Housing
Affordable housing can be difficult to secure because there are long waiting lists for public housing and private rental properties are expensive and often only available on a12 month lease. 22

Some young mothers experience difficulties securing stable accommodation. Most youth refuges do not accept young mothers. Catherine Villa and Glen Mervyn are two of the few accommodation services available (see contact details at the end of this section). 7

Child care
Most young parents haven't used child care before the birth of their first child. There is a lack of awareness about child care services such as occasional care services and many of these services are too expensive for young parents.

Lack of affordable child care is a major barrier to young parents accessing education and employment opportunities. 9

Income support
The level of income support for young mothers is very low and many families struggle to meet the basic costs of raising a child such as rent, food, clothes etc.

Recreation
Young mothers have the same needs as other young people, such as the need for recreation, to be able to go out, unwind and have fun. This is difficult because young mothers who can arrange child care are often viewed as "abandoning their child". 6, 15

Relationship with the child's father
Some young mothers live with the father of the child, some live apart but continue the relationship, and for some the relationship has broken down. Where a relationship still exists the addition of a child can bring stress to the relationship. When a relationship breaks down the young mother will probably still need to maintain contact with the father for access visits, and this can be a cause of stress for all involved.

Post-natal depression
Many young mothers experienced post-natal depression. It is 3 times more likely among young mothers, with around 40% affected. Post-natal depression often goes untreated in young mothers as they feel they can't discuss it due to negative stereotypes and fear of being seen as a bad parent or not coping. 15

Self image
Many young mothers experience a lose of confidence and self esteem. Their role as an individual is lost and replaced by a role defined in relation to their child. There is a need for recognition of the skills, abilities and dreams of the young woman as an individual.

Needs of young fathers
Young fathers face many of the same issues as young mothers, however they are unlikely to face these issues to the same extent as young mothers unless they are the primary care giver.

For example a father who is not the primary care giver is unlikely to face the same levels of social discrimination and barriers to education and employment.

However all young fathers are in need of support. Young fathers may feel socially isolated or different from than their peers. While some young mothers may feel comfortable in talking about parenting issues with their non-parenting peers it is less likely than young fathers will be able to talk about these issues with their non-parenting male friends. 20

There are extremely limited opportunities for young men to access support groups specifically for young fathers. Young fathers may feel uncomfortable in attending other programs, such as play groups, if they are the only young person or only man in attendance.

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