Adolescent mothers as a group face challenges arising from the stage of adolescent development as well as pregnancy and motherhood. They live in worlds which hold different and sometimes conflicting expectations of them. They are required to balance the results of changes in their lives, often without guidance and support, to make the transition from adolescent to mother.
Many are willing to assist adolescent mothers become more capable of coping with their lives. Some design programmes based on their own interpretations of the needs of adolescent mothers. Others seek to determine the expressed needs of adolescents before embarking on an intervention. Regardless of the approach adopted, the many layers of the realities of adolescent mothers lead back to their childhood experiences which may be unearthed over a period of time. Understanding these realities is essential for any intervention to lead to lasting and meaningful change in the lives of the adolescent mothers.
In April 2008, Women Across Differences (WAD) collaborated with the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to develop and implement a pilot project for adolescent mothers in Guyana. The organizations envisaged that the 1-year project, entitled “Reducing Unplanned Pregnancies Among Adolescent Mothers”, would result in the following changes for the individual participant or for the group:
• A reduction of unplanned pregnancies;
• Increased self-confidence through access to Sexual and Reproductive Health/Family
Planning information and services;
• Acquisition of entrepreneurial knowledge and literacy skills; and
• Adoption of more positive lifestyles.
