The last post I took a look at some of the difficulties that new moms face in the first year and beyond. I wanted to take a look into the life of teen moms, because not only do they have the new mom challenges, but they also have these below to add on top! These don’t even include situational circumstances that may abound in the baby or teen. [I took the listed difficulties, and filled in my own commentary under each. Below is a link to the actual website I took the idea from.]
1. Social Difficulties
Once a girl becomes pregnant, she no longer fits in with other teens her age, but she doesn’t quite fit in with the adults who are pregnant or have young children. There is this empty void a teen mom will have to face. It may get lonely and confusing and may cause rebellion. Teens are teens so they can find themselves. They have little to no responsibilities, begin working and learning how the world works. It is supposed to be a slow transition into adulthood. A teen mom has to deal with these things in a very fast manner and their capacities, mental and emotional, just aren’t prepared.
2. Physical Stress
Young women’s bodies are still growing and growth plates are hardening during the teen years and even into our twenties. The problem with being pregnant during this time is that our bodies need to be sturdy and strong when we’re carrying around the extra weight of a baby. Our bones shift and move during pregnancy and labor. There are risks to the skeleton for teen moms during this time.
3. Looked down upon by adults
This is a huge stigma teen moms will carry the rest of their lives. There is a reason society and the Bible prefers women to be married before having children. There are so many things that go into having a successful family and that can be a whole other blog post. But not only do teen moms have the issues on their shoulders, but it is as if they aren’t treated with the respect they need. Teen moms don’t feel they can open up to older mentors for fear of judgement.
4. Isolation from Friends
Friends change. This happens to most women I know that have a had a baby. Social friends no longer are there that much. As an adult it is easy to understand. But as a teen when social life is their only outlet, it can be the end of the world. They don’t understand this process of friendship changes, growth, and moving on.
5. Education on Hold
A baby costs money and time. Education costs money and time. Which is more important at the time? Which is more important for the mom or the baby? These are adult decisions that would require a lot of thought and a lot of planning that most teens don’t have figured out yet.
6. Low birth weight
Babies born to any woman that eats unhealthy or doesn’t take care of her body during pregnancy (or before) have high risks of babies being born with a low birth weight. Teens aren’t conscious of their food choices, usually. They don’t see how many calories or nutrients are going into their bodies or NOT going into their bodies. Unhealthy mama usually means an unhealthy baby.
7. Lack of adequate finances
Teens don’t have careers under their belt. Teens don’t have a spouse to help support the family finances. Teens may not have the support of their families. Most teen moms give birth to their children and begin a life of poverty. Poverty brings about a lot more burdens. The mom must work. She must be away from her baby more than she may like. She may take on adult situations because she’s living an adult life but not understand the ramifications of her choices. Lack of adequate finances is scary for any new mom, but think about this as a teen.
