Improving adolescent maternal health

Improving adolescent maternal health.

Each year thousands of adolescent girls and young women in South Africa (SA) become pregnant and many die from complications related to pregnancy and childbirth. Although women of all ages are susceptible, girls<15 years of age are five times as likely, and those aged 15-19 years twice as likely, to die from complications related to childbirth than women in their 20s. In SA, non-pregnancy-relat...

Improving Child and Maternal Health: Why Adolescent Girl Programming Matters

Adolescent mental health: Challenges with maternal noncompliance

The leading cause of suicide ideation, attempts, and completion in adolescents is persistent and unresolved parental conflict. National statistics show extremely high rates of childhood neglect and abuse are perpetrated most often by single mothers. Psychiatric disorders arising from maternal-child dysfunction are well-documented. However, resources to prevent offspring victimization are lackin...

Maternal depressive symptoms during childhood and risky adolescent health behaviors.

OBJECTIVE Maternal depression is a risk factor for adolescent depression; however, the effect of childhood exposure to maternal depression on adolescent engagement in health risk behaviors (eg, substance use, delinquency) is unclear. METHODS We examined the relationship between maternal depressive symptoms (child's age 4-15) and engagement in health risk behaviors at age 16 to 17 by using dat...

Beyond talking groups: strategies for improving adolescent health education.

In a study that focused on adolescent girls' health issues within their dating relationships, we found that nonstructured focus group conversation can be augmented with structured strategies to generate a nonthreatening environment in which participants are enabled to co-create an understanding of their experiences. The use of free writing, role playing, and body tracing helped raise participan...