Teen Parenting: The Effects of Home Visiting Programs on Teen Parenting The establishment of home visiting programs provides families and their young children with resources, supports and how to establish meaningful relationships (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). These programs and services in the US date back to the late 1800s (Sweet & Appelbaum, 2004). Home visiting programs focus on high-risk families who often are on or below the line of poverty, many are not American citizens, and many are teenage mothers with little to no supports. Home visiting programs focus on many dimensions of assistance. Programs such as Healthy Families America (HFA), is a home visiting program with over 430 sites across the United States (Gomby, 2007).
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Their bodies are changing, their likes and dislikes, their emotions are often scattered, and they are figuring out their place in the world (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). These changes are all common among typical teenage girls, however when you add pregnancy as a contributing factor everything suddenly escalates. Girls who become pregnant often suffer from guilt, doubt, fear, and commonly a target for bullying (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). Pregnancy most likely will cause social changes for young girls and they will lose most support systems they had once before. Home visit programs play a crucial role in mother’s lives in this particular area. They cultivate a bond with the mother that allows her to feel loved, cared for, and worthy (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). Moms are often placed into support groups with other teen moms through the programs. These programs aid in coping, communication, and transitions into their new phase of life. Many teen mothers feel they are unable to go through with the pregnancy or parenting because of their lack of support (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). However, mothers who participated in home visit programs received the supports they needed to feel competent and capable of carrying and raising their child (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). Teen mothers who participated in the home …show more content…
LBW infants are susceptible to many risk-factors such as mortality, developmental delays, maltreatment, health problems. They are twice as probable to land in the foster care system compared to babies born in the normal weight range (Lee et al., 2009). In a study by Lee et al. (2009), 501 women were divided randomly into two groups. 90% of these women were unmarried and living in poverty with at-risk factors. The intervention group consisting of 236 women, were enrolled in Healthy Families New York (HFNY), a home visitation program. The remaining 265 women were placed in the control group and given resources, information and referrals to a different form of services outside of visitation. The study found that the mothers who received regular home visits were exactly half as likely as the control group to deliver LBW babies (Lee et al.,
Their bodies are changing, their likes and dislikes, their emotions are often scattered, and they are figuring out their place in the world (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). These changes are all common among typical teenage girls, however when you add pregnancy as a contributing factor everything suddenly escalates. Girls who become pregnant often suffer from guilt, doubt, fear, and commonly a target for bullying (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). Pregnancy most likely will cause social changes for young girls and they will lose most support systems they had once before. Home visit programs play a crucial role in mother’s lives in this particular area. They cultivate a bond with the mother that allows her to feel loved, cared for, and worthy (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). Moms are often placed into support groups with other teen moms through the programs. These programs aid in coping, communication, and transitions into their new phase of life. Many teen mothers feel they are unable to go through with the pregnancy or parenting because of their lack of support (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). However, mothers who participated in home visit programs received the supports they needed to feel competent and capable of carrying and raising their child (Heaman, Chalmers, Woodgate & Brown, 2007). Teen mothers who participated in the home …show more content…
LBW infants are susceptible to many risk-factors such as mortality, developmental delays, maltreatment, health problems. They are twice as probable to land in the foster care system compared to babies born in the normal weight range (Lee et al., 2009). In a study by Lee et al. (2009), 501 women were divided randomly into two groups. 90% of these women were unmarried and living in poverty with at-risk factors. The intervention group consisting of 236 women, were enrolled in Healthy Families New York (HFNY), a home visitation program. The remaining 265 women were placed in the control group and given resources, information and referrals to a different form of services outside of visitation. The study found that the mothers who received regular home visits were exactly half as likely as the control group to deliver LBW babies (Lee et al.,