Reducing Infant Morbidity with Adolescent Mothers

Reducing infant morbidity with adolescent mothers is a significant public health problem in both rural and urban areas.Teenage pregnancy rates are extremely high in the United States but the majority of support, education and intervention programs deal with preventing pregnancy.This disregards the population of already pregnant teenagers and their developing babies, putting both at risk.In applying the Health Promotion Model, developed by Dr. Pender from the expectancyvalue theory and social cognitive theory, adolescent mothers can be given the health and emotional support they need during pregnancy to increase positive outcomes for their infants.Focus on the positive aspects, not the negative factors and risks, can have a significant impact on adolescent mothers.The Health Promotion Model encourages behavior and attitude to increase wellbeing and health as opposed to focusing on illness or what can go wrong.Adolescent mothers may already be in a situation where they are considered wrong, having made a mistake and other belittling or demeaning associations that lower their self esteem.Promoting a healthy and safe developmental environment for their babies while in the womb gives them a chance to take a fresh, positive and healthy start.