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Show 4W The Salt Lake Tribune, Sunday, March 14, 1982 New home for pregnant teens has innovative concept Hazel S. Parkinson Tribune Gub Editor By under 18. Home for pregnant teen-ageThe home, a Young Womens Christian Associa-- 7 - lion project, will open its doors in April. 77 Like similar homes forteen-age-pregnant young women, 7 the Home takes in during their last 7 three months of pregnancy providing protection in a I supportive living environment. ' 7 But there will be a major difference at the 1 ; Home. Should a young mother choose to keep her baby, she and the infant may stay up to three months after the delivery, said Betty Tatham, executive director - of the YWCA. Young women accepted in the program will be 7 helped in evaluating the options available to them of adoption or of keeping and raising their babies. rs rs ' Encourage Parent Support If possible, their own parents will be involved. - Parents also will be encouraged to provide support during this difficult time. We want the young mother to reach the decision that is in her own best interest," said Mrs. Tatham. For those who opt for adopfon for their babies, ! counsel and advice will be given to lessen feelings of 7 guilt they might have, she said. 7 Mrs. Tatham said many young women have little - idea of what is entailed in the care and respon-- 7 sibilities they face in rearing a child as a single 7 parent. Staying at the teen home for the I period, the young mothers will have experience in 7 caring for their own babies. The young women will be taught parenting and 7 7 child-car- e skills, nutrition principles, meal planning 7 and preparations, homemaking skills, communica- tions skills. They also will receive medical care. ' We also want them to build a good and 7 to build positive relationships with others. 7 Residents who are awaiting the birth of their babies will have hands-oexperiences with the 7 infants in the home providing insight into some of the - responsibilities in rearing a child, said the director. Babies of the teen mothers will receive excellent 7 care in an environment that is nurturing and supportive both physically and psychologically, said 7 Mrs. Tatham. 7 Home The YWCAs main objective for the is to provide a sheltered, protective living environ--7 jnent, with counseling and other support services for pregnant young women. Stay in School Those accepted will be encouraged to stay in school as long as possible and to return as soon as their physicians approve. . 7 The Salt Lake City School District has a program called Home and Hospital geared especially for 7 pregnant teens before and after delivery. The young Ijnothers are encouraged to bring their babies to Home will be enrolled in 7 class. Those at the 7 the program. A bus will pick them up and return 7 uem after school. The teens will be encouraged to continue 7 faunseling with the referring agency, she noted. 7 Group and individual counseling also will be 7 7 7 . self-imag- Y-Te-en one-to-o- self-ima- n semi-annual- iii sports your body 717 1 1 7 lBallet By Judy Linsect! New York Daily News Writer develops huge caft muscles. Running delays puberty. Pregnant women shouldnt exercise. pir. Mona M. Shangold, assistant professor of ob$Wtrics and gynecology at New York Hospital-Corhe- ll Medical Center, consultant to Playtex Tampons, and runner who averages 30 miles a week, hat- heard the facts" about women and exercise. Shje- heard them while she was growing up and participating in sports long before it was socially ly Follow-up- s Crucial We feel that follow-u- p services will be crucial for these young women, said Mrs. Tatham. The director, assistant (both professionals), plus other trained staff people will be at the home around the clock. Home director will report directly to The the executive director of the YWCA. In turn, she is responsible to the YWCA board of directors, headed by Frances Hoopes, president. An advisory committee also has been set up. It is chaired by a registered nurse, also a hospital administrator; five members of the YWCA board; and 25 professionals representing community agencies working in the area of teen pregnancy. A Risk Index, an evaluation based on a point system, will be used to determine admittance. The highest priority based on the point system is situation (medical or an immediate social) for mother andor baby. 7- -7 ation Home for pregnant teens will be opening soon. Home is project of YWCA. Home director, other provided by the qualified professionals and volunteers who have expertise in social psychology and nursing, said Mrs. Tatham. Volunteer A group of young mothers, called will models. volunteers as The role act Sponsors, will be trained to provide support and encouragement for the young pregnant women on a basis, while they are at the home. There will be a follow-u- p system by the volunteers after the new young mother leaves the home. Mrs. Tatham said that those who have been residents will be encouraged to return to the home for group sessions on a regular basis during the first year and thereafter. post-delive- . acceptable for girls to do so. She started running 17 years ago, and as she met more women at the starting lines, Shangold heard more. As a doctor, I was always flooded with questions, she remembers. There were a lot of things women wanted to know and didnt. I Shangold didnt necessarily know either. realized not much research was done, she says. So I started doing it myself. Beginning Research Others were beginning to do research as well and sports gynecology was bom. That was about five years ago, and last summer, Shangold founded Cornells Sports Gynecology Center, of which she is now director. Meanwhile, more women were getting hooked on everything from jogging to weight-liftinWomen were asking more questions and everyone was discussing these things more freely and openly. These things run the gamut from irregular menstruation to amenorrhea (cessation of periods) to late puberty to controversy over pregnancy and exercise. The answers arent in yet, but evidence is being collected. not the languid Shangold believes in exercise leg-litype, but the sort that works the heart and lungs, pushes the pulse to at least 120 beats a minute (you can measure by taking your pulse for five ft Other high risk considerations include a teen who has a history of significant abuse or neglect; one who is 14 or under; medical problems of either mother or her unborn child; One who has attempted suicide during the year; previous attempted infanticide; one who has no emotional support; one whose pregnancy is a result of rape or incest ; and one who has no living facility. An Overdue Need The YWCA and other social services and health agencies have long recognized the need for such a facility. The home is located within a mile of the YWCA, 322 E. 3rd South. It was purchased by the Salt Lake County Commission with community development funds. It has been a family home, then a nursing home. The building needed to be renovated to bring it up to code and make it suitable for its new purpose. Statistics show that almost 1,500 girls 17 or younger have babies in Salt Lake County each year. Close to 300 of these young women are unwed mothers mother-to-b- e Face Babies born to unwed mothers ages 17 and under in Salt Lake County (see box). Adolescent mothers face greater risks or complications andyor death related to pregnancy than women in their early 20s, said Mrs. Tatham. For 15 to 19 year olds, the risk is 35 percent higher. For mothers 14 or under it is 60 percent, noted Mrs. Tatham, using information furnished by Dr. Arthur Elster, director of adolescent medicine, University of Utah Medical Center. In addition, the younger the mother the more likely she is to have a baby with low birth weight causing subsequent difficulties, andor a child with birth defects. From a U. of U. Medical Center publication, Mrs. Tatham quoted, Many of the babies in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit are the offspring of seconds immediately after exercising and multiplying by 12). She recommends exercising in doses of 10 to 30 minutes, at least three times a week. (Caution: Take it gradually if youre not in condition.) A variety of menstruation problems are often blamed on exercise. Shangold isnt convinced that exercise is the culprit: Studies havent shown that exercise causes these things. Had Problems Before own In her studies, she discovered that a high percentage of women with menstruation problems had those problems before they began exercising. But she concedes that the loss of weight and body fat normally accompanying exercise, changes in diet or sleep patterns or the stress and anxiety of competition and training may play a role in producing irregular periods. Shangold has her theories about late puberty. The onset of puberty increases the estrogen in a girls body. Then fat content increases and the long bones stop growing. To put it bluntly, the earlier puberty arrives, the shorter and fatter a girl will be. Since a short, fat athlete cant compete as successfully, Shangold thinks its possible that a delayed puberty is natures way of creating better athletes. PERMANENT HAIR REMOVAL PIAZA45 teen-ag- e mothers. These young women generally have little or no prenatal care and no knowledge of their bodys special needs. Poor Nutrition Some of them refuse to believe they are pregnant. The combination of the small uterus in a young mother and poor nutrition can lead to a premature birth. The article, she said, also described the cost of care in the NICU as about $1,000 a day per baby. The length of stay averages 18 days. The death rate of mothers is twice that of older infants of teen-ag-e women, except those past 40. Many medical problems can be avoided through appropriate prenatal care, adequate nutrition, a supportive environment and reduction of stress and anxiety, said Mrs. Tatham. In addition, pregnant teens, unless they marry before the pregnancy starts and are in their late teens, tend to have many social complications as well, she said. Often these young women are deserted by the young father or pressured into marrying someone they do not care for as a husband. Feelings of Guilt Consequently these young women have feelings e of anxiety and guilt, have a poor and lack support of their own parents. Many have fear and misunderstanding of what it is like to have and raise an infant. If the girl is delinquent, promiscuous, runs away from home, andor exhibits other acting out behavior, plus being pregnant, the chances of finding a foster home placement for her is minimal, Mrs. Tatham said. Literally then, some of these girls have no place to go and live safely until their babies are bom and for a short time afterward to learn parenting skills or put their babies up for adoption . Without a support system, teen mothers are far more likely not to finish school, to stay on public assistance and to have additional pregnancies while still in their teens, she said. In Utah, 90 percent of all teen mothers keep their babies. Babies born to unwed mothers of all ages in Salt Lake County: 1979 1981 1980 1,214 1,394 1,389 (Source: Sait Lake County Health Department) A late puberty has no harmful effects, except for the possibility of psychological ones, Shangold maintains. She does say that if a girl hasnt menstruated by age 16, she should be examined even though there may very well be nothing wrong. According to Shangold, theres nothing wrong with a pregnant woman, who is fit, continuing to exercise. This is an extremely controversial area, Shangold acknowledges. Weve established that exercise is generally good for the mother, but we dont know how much is good for the baby. Some experiments with animals indicate that heavy exercise may result in problems such as premature birth. But Shangold emphasizes that animals arent humans and that the final word isnt in yet. I advise that women maintain their regular level of exertion during pregnancy, but at a slower rate, she says. If you normally run an eight-minumile. mile, make it a Pregnancy is really hard work, notes Shangold. A lot of women dont appreciate that. Its something like running a marathon, and, like a marathon, you ought to train for it. You should get in shape before you get pregnant. If youre not, pregnancy isnt the time to start a whole new regimen. How much is too much? Pregnant women should listen to their bodies, says Shangold. The body will tell you if youre overdoing it. te Sick days WASHINGTON (UPI) Older workers take less time off for illness than younger ones, government data shows. An American Council of Life Insurance newsletter says Americans nationally lost more than 339 million days from work in 1980 because of illness or injury. Thats an average of 3.5 days per worker. The average for workers over 45 was only 3.1 days, compared with 3.7 for o Respiratory ailments were the major cause of lost days, 1.5 per employed person, than any other single ailment or injury. Accidents came second, with 1.1 days lost per worker. 17-t- Anniversary sale! ELECTROLYSIS Eyebrow Shaping Arms Underarms Chest Abdomen Swimsuit Lines Upper and Lower Legs Beard Shaping ii. 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