This paper describes the Partners for a Healthy Baby program, administered through the Success in Schools initiative, which addresses the unique medical, psychological, and social challenges faced by pregnant teenagers. The program combines direct services—including transportation to prenatal appointments and healthcare coordination—with educational resources and psychological support to reduce maternal and infant health risks. By targeting complications like pregnancy-induced hypertension, preeclampsia, and postpartum depression while enabling teens to remain in school, the program integrates evidence-based practices to improve outcomes for both mother and baby while reducing long-term societal costs.
Partners for a Healthy Baby is a new program administered through the Department of Social Services' Success in School Program. Success in Schools is designed to help at-risk pregnant teen mothers navigate their responsibilities to their new babies and to school to ensure that they graduate. Partners for a Healthy Baby is specifically designed to address the physical and medical challenges teens often face, as well as the fact that babies born to pregnant teens often face more significant medical risks than those born to women in their twenties. This disparity is due, in part, to a lack of prenatal care and other factors that require comprehensive intervention.
Teenage mothers face elevated health risks during pregnancy compared to adult women. One significant risk is the development of pregnancy-induced hypertension, or high blood pressure, which occurs at much higher rates in teens than in pregnant women in their twenties or thirties. Pregnant teens also have a higher risk of preeclampsia, "a dangerous medical condition that combines high blood pressure with excess protein in the urine, swelling of a mother's hands and face, and organ damage" ("Teenage pregnancy," 2015). These conditions necessitate close medical monitoring to detect abnormalities early. Management often requires medications to control symptoms, but medication use during pregnancy requires careful oversight to ensure the developing baby's health is not compromised.
Another critical concern is low birth weight. A lack of prenatal care is directly linked with the risk of low birth weight in babies born to teens. "A low-birth-weight baby weighs only 3.3 to 5.5 pounds (1,500 to 2,500 grams). A very-low-birth-weight baby weighs less than 3.3 pounds. Babies that small may need to be put on a ventilator in a hospital's neonatal care unit for help with breathing after birth" ("Teenage pregnancy," 2015). Investment in prenatal care serves as both a critical health intervention and a cost savings for society.
Partners for a Healthy Baby helps teens secure prenatal care and monitoring by arranging transportation to doctor's visits and acting as a coordinator with healthcare institutions to ensure that teens have access to affordable and appropriate medical care. Many teens are eligible for local, state, and federal financial support for their healthcare but are unaware of how to navigate the complex bureaucratic systems that can be intimidating even to adults. Partners for a Healthy Baby provides teens with logistical support and guidance, reaching out to them while serving as a facilitator and coordinator so they can access services the program does not provide directly.
For teens who have more than one child, securing support services that provide childcare and access to supportive resources during pregnancy is especially critical. The program's coordination function is essential because most teens lack the knowledge, time, and resources to independently locate and access the services they need during a medically vulnerable and psychologically stressful period.
The Partners program also acts as an educational resource for pregnant teens. Many teens engage in higher-risk behavior early during pregnancy because they are initially unaware of their pregnancy. This may include substance use, unprotected sex (which can expose the developing baby to sexually transmitted infections), and inadequate nutrition. Because most teen pregnancies are unplanned, teens are less likely to have adequate folic acid levels, as ideally supplementation should begin before conception. "Women who are pregnant or might become pregnant take folic acid to prevent miscarriage and 'neural tube defects,' birth defects such as spina bifida that occur when the fetus's spine and back do not close during development" ("Folic acid," 2014).
Teen mothers are also more vulnerable to postpartum depression, both biologically and due to the isolation they experience from the dramatic life transition from carefree adolescence to the responsibilities of child care. "Girls who feel down and sad, either while pregnant or after the birth, should talk openly with their doctors or someone else they trust. Depression can interfere with taking good care of a newborn—and with healthy teenage development—but it can be treated" ("Teenage pregnancy," 2015). Many teens are unaware of this risk and feel helpless.
"Teen mothers reported receiving significantly less social support than adult mothers as they had poorer ability to make and maintain relationships with others," often because of lost social connections due to dropping out of school and lack of time and resources for childcare (Kim, Connolly, & Tamim, 2014). Encouraging girls to remain in school decreases their sense of isolation and gives them hope and possibility about the future. The program provides subsidized childcare and enables girls to have transportation to minimize conflicts between work, school, and parenting, while also reducing tensions at home about relying on family members for childcare.
Teens are at higher risk for psychological disorders connected to pregnancy. "It was observed that teen mothers were more deprived in terms of lower education, lower social class (higher unemployment rate), and were more likely to be single compared to adult mothers. Studies have indicated that mothers who received social support during pregnancy and/or after childbirth were significantly less likely to experience postpartum depression" (Kim, Connolly, & Tamim, 2014). While social support programs cannot replace family and friends' support, they can address significant gaps. By providing counseling for girls and opportunities to participate in support groups with peers experiencing the same challenges, teen mothers are less likely to feel isolated. Community support also increases the likelihood that they will continue their educations when they see other teens similarly engaged.
Teen mothers who are not depressed are more able to provide adequate care for their babies, including proper nutrition, physical affection, consistent sleep schedules, and meeting other developmental needs (Kim, Connolly, & Tamim, 2014). Physical development and mental and social development are linked in newborns; investing in social programs in the short term generates long-term financial savings for society.
Parenting classes that educate teen mothers about appropriate developmental milestones for their children and help them develop basic parenting skills can reduce stress and improve overall health outcomes for babies. "Motherhood requires lots of support in various forms (e.g., financial, appraisal, physical, emotional), and from sources—family, partners, and peers. Generally, adult mothers are known to receive more support regarding their pregnancy compared to teen mothers. Literature has shown that teen mothers are reported to have poorer ability to build and maintain interpersonal relationships, indicating the absence of any adequate support compared to adult mothers" (Kim, Connolly, & Tamim, 2014).
Connecting teens with local organizations that provide parenting education and outreach is critical. Teens are unlikely to seek out such resources on their own initiative, particularly during a stressful and confusing time in their lives. The program coordinator steps in to provide this supportive and connecting function, ensuring that teens access evidence-based parenting information and peer support networks. This comprehensive approach addresses both the informational gaps and the relational isolation that characterize the teen motherhood experience.
The Partners for a Healthy Baby program has two complementary functions. The first is to provide needed services to mothers and babies to improve their immediate and long-term physical health. The program uses evidence-based research to target specific deficits and prioritize particular needs. Second, the program acts as a facilitator, directing girls toward additional programs and forms of support. Both psychological and physical wellness are addressed, recognizing that they are interlinked. A psychologically well-adjusted teen is more likely to engage in positive self-care and give birth to a healthy baby.
By making it easier for teens to attend doctors' appointments and meet other commitments that support baby health without sacrificing school attendance, the program removes barriers to care. Ultimately, it is hoped that the program will reduce the likelihood that teens will have additional children before they are adequately prepared, while fostering a sense of respect and positive self-regard for their bodies and their role as mothers.
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