Delayed second birth among adolescent mothers

Title: Delayed second birth among adolescent mothers.

Description:

Maureen Black of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and colleagues evaluated a home-based mentoring program involving a cohort of 149 black, first time teenage mothers.

Content:

“Delaying Second Births Among Adolescent Mothers: A Randomized, Controlled Trial of a Home-Based Mentoring Program,” Paediatrics: Maureen Black of the University of Maryland School of Medicine and colleagues evaluated a home-based mentoring program involving a cohort of 149 black, first-time teenage mothers. Seventy teens met with mentors who were young, black, college-educated mothers with one preschool-age child after their first child was born twice monthly for 12 to 24 months, and 79 teens in the control group received standard post-partum support services, Reuters Health reports. Eight of the 70 girls involved in the mentor program during the 24-month follow-up period had a second child, compared with 19 of those who received standard post-partum care. Researchers found that having two or more mentor visits reduced by more than threefold the odds of giving birth a second time (Reuters Health, 10/4). “A home-based intervention founded on a mentor ship model and targeted toward adolescent development, including negotiation skills, was effective in preventing rapid repeat births among low income, black adolescent mothers,” the researchers wrote (Black et al., Pediatrics, October 2006).

Source:

www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=53951

Disclaimer:

Any views or opinions expressed are solely those of the author and do not represent those of The Federation of Antenatal Educators (FEDANT) unless specifically stated.