Question

A nurse is working in a prenatal care clinic with a high number of adolescent pregnancies. The nurse is asked to prepare some guidelines for the staff regarding care for this population. Explain four interventions you would include in these guidelines. Consider nutritional, psycho-social, and developmental issues for this high-risk population. Include suggestions for professionals who should be on a care team for pregnant adolescents and at least one important community referral that should be made for this population.

Answer 1

Guidelines for adolescent pregnancy-

1. Nutrition-

A well-balanced pregnancy diet includes:

• protein
• vitamin C
• calcium
• fruits and vegetables
• whole grains
• iron-rich foods
• adequate fat
• folic acid
• Vit B1,B2 ,B3
• Vit A

So Foods such as broccoli, fortified orange juice, spinach, and liver are high in folic acid1. Eat plenty of calcium because her bones are still growing. Calcium is easily obtained from milk, yogurt, cheese, calcium fortified fruit juice, and ice cream. This type of food is highly recommend.

Iron,folic acid , vitamin are needed in high amount so supplement are needed regularly.

2. Psycho social-

Continuum of Care is a proven program that provides education and support for pregnant and parenting teens in foster care.

The Continuum of Care model includes:

1. Parenting Support through Video (PSV), which uses video to help build on positive interactions between parents and children.
2. Home-based counseling.
3. Workshops on child development, appropriate discipline, self-awareness, attachment between parent and child, negotiating co-parenting relationships, and overall emotional/physical well-being of parent and child.
4. Teen Choice group sexuality education.
5. IMPACT (Interventions to Maintain Parents and Children Together) workshops and support groups that focus on navigating the foster care system and helping parents regain custody of their children.

3. Development issues-

The children of teen are more likely to be born prematurely with a low birth weight, predisposing them to many other lifelong conditions.

Teens are at a higher risk for pregnancy-related high blood pressure (preeclampsia) and its complications than average age mothers. Risks for the baby include premature birth and low birth weight. Preeclampsia can also harm the kidneys or even be fatal for mother or baby.

Suggestions for professional-

As adolescent pregnants have less life experience than adults and they are not as mentally prepared and emotionally shattered. So they need extra care and psychological supports. So care team should take care of there nutrition and psychological counseling.

4. Community referral-

Teen parents also have significant economic burdens related to being in school and raising a child. Due to this, they are often in need of government assistance including Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program (SNAP formerly Food Stamps) benefits, TANF and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP).