Teen mums to get NHS 'minders'

[AB Asks]

Some teenage mothers will be assigned an NHS minder to help them 'cope' until their baby is two. A trial of the scheme will see visits to teenage mothers in deprived areas. Health visitors or midwives will teach the mothers from a curriculum of 'parenting and relationship skills' and lessons on exercise and diet. What do you think? Is this going to be a massive strain on the NHS in light of the recent midwife crisis? Or could this help teenage mums look after their babies to a much higher standard?

[vehelpfulguy]

Maybe a minder BEFORE the teenage girls get pregnant would be a better idea.

[Yorkie580]

My wife gave birth two weeks ago and I can't believe that they are going to be able to find enough staff to be minders!

The Hospital we were at was desperately understaffed. The midwives were doing a fantastic job but couldn't have coped without the support of all the student midwives. I changed my wife's bedclothes each day so that she had fresh sheets wheenevr she came out from her shower. THIS IS NO CRITISISM OF THE MEDICAL STAFF - they are under-resourced and undervalued by their bosses and since I was at around doing nothing I did it to help out.

It's the same in the community where homevisits have been cut, antenatal classes ahve been shortened etc.

It sounds like yet another quick fix plan that will never actually see the light of day - there's insufficent funding and staffing available as there is without trying to increase what is currently done.

With the number of midwives so low, surely doubling their workload is no way of encouraging them to stay or of encouraging more people to join the profession!

[redcrx]

Itll be exactly the same as all the appointments and reviews that all mothers are supposed to get. Pretty much non-existent because of the lack of money and staff.

As VHG says theyd be better off spending the money on educating teenagers so that they dont fall pregnant.

[youngmafbog]

Always a difficult call. Remember though the child did not ask to be bought into the world and I feel the best help should be given to the child - and it should not stop at two.

I am however, concerned this may give yet another green light to teenage pregancy so in a way I also agree with vhg.

[Pinky99]

Ok I just passed over the teenage mom' stigma' because i was 18 when my son was born. Now from my - be it personal experience - if these NHS minders are anything like the midwifes that visited me then god help these young moms and kids. I just hope they have now been trained to be objective and understanding rather than judgemental which happened to me. The fact my son at 10 has an acaedemic scholarship to a local independant school will probably pass them by but when he was a baby they did their best to make me feel totally inadequat (sp??) - the best help I had was from my mom - bless her!!

[scruffscat]

My daughter is 14 in september, when i had her i was put on a ward on my own from 7 oclock till 8 the next mornin NOBODY checked on me.When they could be finally arsed to check i was 8cm dialated, and had her on they delivery table being wheeled down to the delivery suite.pinky99 i fully empathise with you, my discharge notes were all wrong, sayin i bottled feed when i was actually breast feeding,they even wrote that shed been born the day before!!! The midwife was a cow who visisted me at home,she kept sayin "well shes here now" and "all safe and sound".... i was a lot younger then, and with hind sight wouldnt of put up with it all again, If my daughter would ve been first she d have been the last.! perhaps the nhs proposals are being put in to discourage further pregnancies, if so then itll work lol.

[anotheoldgit]

Whatever happened to the girl's family taking the responsibility, as they mostly did years ago?

There was no support from the state then, all the burden was placed firmly on the girl's families shoulders. And it was them that helped the imature mother bring up their offspring.

Knowing this the parents were keen to instil into their daughters (upon puberty) 'not to bring any trouble home here'.

[Goodsoulette]

This is just something that is already in place and given a different name and its not just teenage mothers. High risk mums are identified in their pregnancy and in the last months taken to specialised mither and baby units to be taught how to parent. Its in extreme cases, but helps them get the rigth start to motherhood. It could just be fore say a mum who is expecting twins or triplets etc to give really dedicated help.

[Goodsoulette]

In response to Yorkie, I dont know why anyone would want to be a midwife, people are so bloody rude to them and ungrateful. When I had my last child some of the other mothers in there were so demanding and bells were always going, I stayed my 6 hours and scarpered.

My mum is a midwife and has worked in the community and the hospital and women when they are pregnant are awful. very stressful, they do a lot of training and dont get paid nearly enough in my opinion.

[Keeprockin]

I would have thought the girls parents/grandparents .if around,would be the natural source of help and assistance. NHS has enough to deal with without being free nannies

[joko]

trouble is, sometimes the girls parents and grandparents are more ignorant that the girl!

remember the fighting toddlers? encouraged by mothers who really should know bettter who actually believed they were doing good?

its a vicious circle - new mums being taught dreadful parenting by dreadful parents, who will then do the same to their own kids.
and then we wonder where all the teenage thugs and grown up scumbags come from...!?

many parents have the attitude that ''its your kid, you look after it'' and want to just ''blunder through'' it, ''getting by''
its simply not good enough.

these kids need the best start if we can hope they will grow up to be good people.