Working with teens?

Hello to everyone. I am beginning my path to being a Doula. I have been reading and reading and reading...I am now 8 months pregnant, plus I have a 2 year old son, so once this baby is out, and we are all settled I am planning on really moving forward with my calling. My question is, have any of you worked with pregnancy care centers, teenagers, Planned Parenthood...those types of places / people? There's something in me that is pulling me in that direction. If you have worked with them, what have your experiences been like? I assume that it may be harder to get into, but I really want to offer it as a free service to women that wouldn't be able to afford it otherwise, or maybe have never heard of a doula. I have a list of the few places around here, and luckily my midwife is very intertwined with the community, so I believe I could make some good connections..but any helpful suggestions, stories, things to consider... would be much appreciated.
Much Aloha~Alice

[raspberrymoondoula]

i havent worked with these yet but my aprenticeship is going to be largely with VERY young teen mothers (my preceptor once had a 12 year old momma!!), so i'll be seeking otu more of a teen community once i get back. our doula group has beent rying ot get ahold of the high schools to do a presentaiton but it seems to keep fallingt hrough.

[loveslabor]

I too am VERY interested in working with specifically teen mommas free of charge. If you find any interesting resourses or websites, do let us know. =)

--amanda

[Bree]

I volunteer at a Crisis Pregnancy center that caters mostly to teens. I too feel led to serve these young moms, probably becaus I was a young mom & know how tough things can be. The place that I volunteer at is faith based & offers pregnancy tests, counceling, & education to these young women plus lots more incentives. It is very rewarding. Most of these moms cannot afford to take a Childbirth prep class, so maybe you can offer your services in that way. I wish you the best of luck & let me know if you have any ????? about the above.

-Bree

Hi girls! Thanks for your input. We do have a Pregnancy Care Center here, and I still have to find the Planned Parenthood, tho I know it's here somewhere. I live on the Big Island of Hawaii, so things are a bit different here, but with the statutory rape law being at age 15, I am assuming there are lots of teenage pregnancies around. My midwife's best friend is the head OB/Gyn at the local Women's Center, (tho it's 45 min away) so I've got a pretty good 'in' there. A girl that I used to work with just got pregnant, and I asked her if she was taking her pre-natals, and she looked at me so confused and asked, "Taking WHAT?" Soo...needless to say, I am going to stay in touch with her and see how things work out.
After I give birth, then I'll head on down to the crisis center to see if I can volunteer and just check things out. I will let you all know if I find any good resources!
Thanks again~alice

[tlcdoula]

I have volunteered a lot to work with teens. In my area there is a volunteer group that works for free with teens and low income mamas. I have done many births for them and through them also heard about other mamas. Basically the way the group works is that referrals are given from social workers.

It is very rewarding work, but can also take a lot from a family especially when it comes to doing volunteer work all the time.

Thanks Michelle..I definitely wouldn't be able to take that many momma's, and I could do some for-fee births to even it out. I do think that a teenage mother would take a bit more time and energy than others that may be more prepared, so being busy with that all the time may not be such a good idea. I guess I am on the right track to finding some momma's.

Hi Alice,
I haven't officially introduced myself to you but my name is Amy. I am a maternity nurse and a doula who works with teens. I work through crisis centers, churches, hospitals etc.
Working with teens can be very challenging at times, just ask Michelle. You need so much patience and understanding. The hard thing with teens is their level of understanding. What you feel is important and what they feel is important can often conflict. I think that when youv'e been a pregnant teen yourself it allows you better access to their thinking. It kind of brings you back there again and helps you deal with them on their level.
When you find out what's really important TO THEM and what really BOTHERS THEM then a connection is made. Once they have trust in you, you have the opportunity to REALLY impact their lives and how they care for their new baby. They are teachable!! Good Luck~ Amy

[tlcdoula]

Welcome Amy and yes you are so right - at times they are so challenging. Depending on the age they may not even have a basic knowledge of their bodies. i will never forget trying to work with one girl who didn't know what a cervix was, didn't know what a uterus was, and was shocked to find out she had a bag of waters. That was a tough case!!!! Although this young mama worked with me and worked hard. I knew she appreciated everything I did for her - I could see it in her attitude and spirit and energy she put forth into learning. I was so happy when she decided not to drop out of high school, and in fact even applied for and started attending college shortly after her baby was born. Then sadly there are the teens like my nephews new wife, who just don't want to put forth any energy and just expect that because she has a doula with her all will work out.

Michelle, try to sit back and wait if you can and not contact her and let her see for herself that she needs you she might come around. Sometimes those mommy hormones don't kick in right away either, especially if she's hanging on to life before baby. When the light goes on then she'll call. Even if she doesn't get all the info you would love for her to have because of scheduling....don't worry. Sometimes it's after the birth that they realize what you've been trying to say all along. If she wants what's best for her baby she WILL contact you because she knows you have the answers she probably isn't ready to hear yet that's all. Frustating Yes! But that's a Teen for ya

Wow. Thanks for all the info! It is great to have a few people to refer to when I don't know what to do..and with the learning process, I am sure it'll be happening more often. I am 24, so my teenage years aren't THAT far behind me, and I am hoping that that could be a useful vantage point. But we will see..still have a few months before I can really start moving. I am assuming that the Pregnancy Center has a lot of brochures, but I will probably do a few of my own. Are there any subjects / brochures that you find very important that you have done on your own? I would like to gather as much stuff as I can before #2 makes his/her appearance. Are there any supplies that you find are helpful to have when working with teens? Okay, thanks for all your help!

[Need2read]

I haven't actually done any Doula work yet but once I am done with my workshops I plan to do most of my cert. births with teen mothers mostly because I lack experience and I would feel more comfortable working with someone at no cost who really needs my services (and most teen mothers do). I also think that my being only 17 at the moment might instill more trust in me because I can possibly relate better than someone older, whereas a preggy momma who is much older than myself might wish to have someone more expereinced and older than themselves. I've also been thinking about what I would like my services to be like and who I am going to look for in terms of clients/momma's.
I feel that all of my services should be free while doing my 3+ births for cert and then once I recieve my cert I would still like to provide 5-10 more births pro-bono because not only is it a necessary service that many aren't either aware of but sometimes not able to do...but I will be gaining valuable experience which is what I will be looking for.

Goodluck to you on your own pregnancy =D

[loveslabor]

during and after her pregnancy. Do you have recommendations for good info for me to read about supporting teens and any good handouts/reading/info that I can provide for her that is geared toward teens?

[tlcdoula]

The main thing I would tell you is to make sure you set your boundaries with her. I am not saying this to be mean, but am saying it from experience with lots of teens. If you do not set boundaries with her you could potentially have her expecting more from you than you can give. Most of the teens I worked with ended up seeing me as a mother figure and therefore treated me like I was their mother. Also be prepared to answer lots of questions and never assume she knows anything. Even if she says she does I would still explain it just so you are certain you are both on the same page. I have had to explain to teens what their uterus was, what a vagina was (they called it a coochie and didn't know it by any other name) and the list goes on. One teen I worked with had no clue that there was amniotic fluid "water" surrounding her baby and freaked out when her doctor mentioned that her water might break - she ran to me for an explanation.

I know I have several books in my office about teen parenting, and for the life of me I can't think of the names of those books right now.

[susan1]

If I may ask how did you get in contact with a "foster youth"?

I cannot wait to help a teen with her birth. I love answering questions. I have not read the book but there is book called “Surviving teen pregnancy” don’t know the auther….good luck in your search for infor.

Susan