Underage pregnancy: nurse role - Essay Example

Running Head: UNDERAGE PREGNANCY: NURSE ROLE Underage Pregnancy: Nurse Role [The [The of the Institution] Underage Pregnancy: Nurse Role Introduction Underage pregnancy has been identified as a major source of social, ethical and healthcare concern in the UK. The problem has been described as an epidemic by many, and its onset has been invariably attributed to the sexual revolution of the sixties. An increased freedom extant from the proliferation of two-income families, the attendant increase in parental divorce/separation often leading to single parent families, the glorification in the mass media of unchecked sexuality, peer pressure, hormonally induced rebelliousness and, paradoxically, the availability of safe, easy birth control and abortion, have all been described at one time or another as the root cause of this problem (Rodriquez and Moore, 2005, 686-87). Healthcare Nursing can play a vital role in proper care and follow up of healthcare maintenance in respect of underage mothers and their babies. The professional registered nurses must show impartiality towards any ethnic community in imparting proper healthcare service to all the patients. Discussion Almost half a million babies are born to underage mothers every year in the UK (Vinovski, 2001, 205-25; Henshaw, 2003, 122-26). While the actual birth rate for this age group has declined in the last four years, the proportion of births to teenagers in relation to total births shows no sign of decrease (Vinovski, 2001, 205-25). In Western Europe, Britain has the highest rate of underage pregnancy, with over 20 per 1000 teenagers giving birth annually, once again only representing approximately 60 per cent of all underage conceptions. All these mothers are not properly cared for by healthcare institutions. In this regard, only professional healthcare nurses can afford a proper guideline and responsible care with thorough confidentiality. Factors leading to underage pregnancy have been whatsoever; however, the ensuing results of underage pregnancy are even more dramatic. The picture in England is, if anything, worse - about 90 per cent of all underage mothers receive income support (Davies et al., 2003, 131-40). The choice to go on social assistance often translates into a cycle of poverty, isolation and depression, which may be merely a continuation of the teenager's previous history, or the start of a new cycle of need (Furstenburg, 2002, 127-38). The socio-economic implications for the mother and, ultimately, her offspring are not the sole problem, however. Babies born to underage mothers are also at an increased risk of a large number of immediate and long term problems. Death rates, low birth-weights, and rates for other psycho-physiological dysfunction are higher in children of underage mothers than in children of other older mothers (Grazi et al., 2001, 89-96; Kitzes, 2000, 28-44). If viewed from sociological and social welfare perspective, some teenagers indubitably do find themselves victims of less than-conscientious civil servants, and some will want to prove to themselves and others that they have the capacity to make it on their own. However, as we have pointed out earlier, more than 70 per cent in the US and more than 90 per cent in the UK ultimately apply for and receive social assistance. And it is the impact of the need for and acceptance of this assistance which should be of as much concern to society as the cost of the assistance itself. As regard to this if a professional healthcare nurse look after the underage mother, it becomes a great contribution towards social service. Becoming dependant on others for one's own and one's baby's existence is disempowering, especially since it comes at an age when personal autonomy is in its formative stage. Dependency, coming at this age, entrenches commonly held stigmatising beliefs in the teenagers themselves, and leads the teenagers to operationalise such beliefs in a way that results in social exclusion. Despite these facts, it should be doubtful that the teenager should bear the degree of responsibility resulting from underage pregnancy that some would like them to shoulder. The researchers used social comparisons underage mothers younger with those older women who had managed successfully as evidence supporting their case that they could cope with the parenting project. Such comparisons are more readily available in areas, including the one in which the present research was undertaken, which have high teenage pregnancy rates. If one of the main principles underlying the operation of social clocks for the start of parenting is that very young parents miss out on other life experiences, and if the extent to which they are deprived depends upon the degree of social support available, then the settings on this clock should take account of a young parent's social network. Absolute temporal judgements dissolve when the meaning of the chronology of parenthood is considered in individual cases. Similarly, the absence of desired social support could exacerbate the restriction of opportunities to explore other roles resulting from early entry into parenthood. Hence, a condition which current government policy defines as problematic could appear both culturally normal and beneficial to women brought up in localities with a tradition of teenage pregnancies. Such affirmations involve defensive rationalisation of an unfortunate position. This explaining away of young pregnant women's perspectives in terms of their putative causes rests on an implicit assumption about human development: that young adults need to go through a period of individualistic self-expression. Causal explanation of beliefs about oneself or the world comes onto the agenda only when their rationality has been explicitly, or, more usually, implicitly rejected. Just as some very young mothers regretted the loss of opportunities to enjoy other activities which, they felt, their early pregnancy entailed, so, some older respondents accounted for delayed parenthood in terms of their wish to enjoy more hedonistic activities to the full whilst still young. the youngest pregnant women could legitimate their timing of the parental project by pointing to the temporal space which they would enjoy at its end. A more realistic picture of the pregnant teenager is beginning to emerge from healthcare perspective. In a recent study, Rodriquez and Moore propose that 'the pregnant teen is usually described as outgoing and typically not rebellious, maladjusted or deviant' (Rodriguez and Moore, 2005, 686-87). Moreover, Roosa et al. reported that almost 90 per cent of their observed British underage mothers, in spite of having all of the risk factors for neglect, tended to assume responsibility for caring for their children (Roosa et al., 2002, 4-18). Initially professional nurse play a significant role in this care. Underage mothers wish to look after their children and their aversion to placing their offspring for adoption or in foster care. More telling, perhaps, is the increasing realisation that a substantial proportion of conceptions in teenagers do not occur at the hands of underage peers, but rather at the hands of older men. There are certain long-term effects of home visits on dependence, child abuse, criminality and repeat pregnancy in at-risk families. They found that fifteen years after initiation of these home visits, families visited exhibited far fewer deviant characteristics than similar families left to fend for themselves. The view of pregnant teenagers which emerges from these studies runs counter to the stereotypic view of pregnant teenagers. (Jacono, 2002, 196-99) Nevertheless, reaction to the phenomenon is intractable and shows no evidence of changing in the foreseeable future. Despite this seemingly unchangeable attitude of many in society, the problem of underage pregnancy does require urgent redress. The healthcare system has a significant role to play in this phase. Conclusion A healthy self-esteem, engendered by familial or healthcare registered nurse's support, is necessary for the teenager to give appropriate care to her newborn infant. Fortunately for the underage mother, there is evidence that healthcare nursing professionals can give that support. The presence of a trusted professional greatly attenuated the crises associated with the early parenthood of adolescents. The intervention of home-visiting nurses was termed very helpful by adolescent mothers. Unfortunately not all pregnant teenagers can avail themselves of similar personal attention. Many, in fact, experience obstacles and rejection - including by health professionals - who could be of such assistance. The underage mother then reacts predictably by becoming introspective, ashamed, isolated or depressed, and as events become more unmanageable she enacts the self-fulfilling stigmatising prophecy. Here, also, the registered nurse can be helpful in caring the mother and the baby. Prenatal care is the first filter of care, since it includes disclosure (diagnosis) of pregnancy and the appropriate periodic monitoring to ensure a healthy pregnancy. Many present for antenatal care far too late in their pregnancy. This has been variously attributed to fear of disclosing pregnancy, with a concomitant absence of an intimate relationship between the teenager and her mother; the fear of being ill treated by professional registered nursing centres and antenatal care centres, the difficulty in accessing service, or - as previously suggested - the personal choice of not wanting to be labelled by the system. Nevertheless, it is apparent that either those who feel unwell as a result of their pregnancy or those with the support and the will to rear their baby, will find their way to antenatal care early in their pregnancy. This fact does them credit, as there is clear research evidence to show that medical and paramedical health providers tend to have and display a low opinion of working-class clients. References Davies, C., Downey, A. and Murphy, H. (2003) School age mothers: access to education, London: Save the Children Fund. 131-35 Furstenburg, F.F. Jr. (2002) 'As the pendulum swings: underage childbearing and social concerns', Family Relations, 40: 127-38. Grazi, R., Redheendran, R., Madalian, N. and Bannerman, R. (2001) 'Offspring of underage mothers - congenital malformations, low birth-weight and other findings', Journal of Reproductive Medicine, 27, 2: 89-96. Henshaw, S. (2003) 'Underage abortions, births and pregnancy statistics, Family Planning Perspectives, 25: 122-26 Jacono, J., Jacono, B., St Onge, M. et al. (2002) 'Underage pregnancy: a reconsideration', Journal of Public Health, 83, 3: 196-99. Kitzes, J. (2000) 'Having a baby under 16', Emergency Medicine, 18, 3: 28-44. Rodriquez, C. Jr. and Moore, N.B. (2005) 'Perceptions of pregnant/parenting teens: re-framing issues for an integrated approach to pregnancy problems', Adolescence, 30, 119: 686-87. Roosa, M., Fitzgerald, H.E. and Casson, N.A. (2002) 'Underage parenting and child development: a literature review', Infant Mental Health Journal, 3: 4-18. Vinovski, M.A. (2001) 'An "epidemic" of adolescent pregnancy Some historical considerations', Journal of Family History UK, 6: 205-25. Read More