Peer Responses:
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You have a 17-year-old female that comes in with suspected pregnancy and limited family support. She is accompanied by her 18-year-old boyfriend who is the father of the child. While knowing she needs prenatal care, what resources and education would you try to provide and how would you encourage compliance in this vulnerable patient? What are some of the biggest risk factors that this patient faces and how can you provide quality care while being sensitive to the stigma that comes with teen pregnancy?
The healthcare provider should take a multimodal approach to ensure the well-being of a 17-year-old girl suspected of having a pregnancy with little family support. Adolescent pregnancy presents several challenges that can be addressed by this method. Here are some examples of a detailed plan:
1. Prenatal Care and Education:
- A provider’s role would be to ensure immediate access to prenatal care to ensure the healthy development of the child and the well-being of the mother (Harding et al., 2020).
- A basic component of this care is nutrition education, the use of prenatal vitamins, and regular check-ups (Harding et al., 2020).
- A prenatal vitamin regimen includes Folic Acid (400 micrograms per day), Iron (27 milligrams per day), Calcium (1300 milligrams per day), and Vitamin D (600 micrograms per day) (National Library of Medicine, n.d.).
- Provide the patient with information about why these vitamins are important: Folic acid protects the baby against birth defects, iron improves brain growth and prevents anemia, Calcium helps to reduce preeclampsia risk, and vitamin D helps the baby grow bones and teeth (National Library of Medicine, n.d.).
2. Emotional Support & Counseling
- As a nurse practitioner, I must provide emotional support to the young pregnant patient via counseling and support groups to assist her in coping with the pressures as a teenage expectant mother (Harding et al., 2020).
- It would be beneficial for the NP to encourage the patient to communicate with her partner to foster a supportive environment.
3. Birth Control Education & STIs
- Considering this patient is 17 years old and pregnant, discussing contraception options with her will help prevent future unplanned pregnancies (Harding et al., 2020).
- Abstaining from sexual activity and unintended pregnancy will help avoid STIs and unintended pregnancies (Grubb, 2020).
- Promote correct and consistent barrier contraception, as well as other contraceptive methods, for the patient and her partner (Grubb, 2020).
- Make contraceptive methods accessible at low or no cost (Grubb, 2020).
4. Provide financial assistance and social services
- This vulnerable patient must be connected with social services to help with her housing, financial assistance, and legal assistance (Harding et al., 2020).
- Planned Parenthood and American Adoptions can be referred to the patient. It is possible to balance one’s budget with adoption resources provided by American Adoptions.
5. Risk factors
- As a young expectant mother, this patient faces several risk factors, such as preterm birth and low birth weight (Harding et al., 2020).
- Providing the mother with financial assistance and job training is essential because many young teens without support tend to end up homeless.
6. Social stigma.
In contrast to the 1990s or even the early 2000s, teen pregnancy is not as stigmatized as it used to be. Providers should maintain patient privacy and be sensitive to the patient’s needs, while also being nonjudgmental and empathetic. Nurse practitioners can tailor care for pregnancy-vulnerable teenagers while promoting their well-being by addressing the above points.
References:
Grubb, L. K. (2020). Barrier protection is used by adolescents during sexual activity. Pediatrics, 146(2). https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2020-007237
Harding, J. F., Zief, S., Farb, A. F., & Margolis, A. (2020). Supporting Expectant and Parenting Teens: New evidence for future programming and research. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 24(S2), 67–75. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-020-02996-2
National Library of Medicine. (n.d.). Pregnancy and nutrition. Retrieved February 20, 2024, from https://medlineplus.gov/pregnancyandnutrition.html
