How to Manage Teen Pregnancy

Video Transcript

DR. F. FELICIA FERRARA: Hello. I'm Dr. Felicia, the parent coach, and I'm here today to talk to you about how to manage teen pregnancy. This is a very serious topic, and it is a life-altering topic. Any young teen who does get pregnant certainly has a high mountain to climb, whether you're in their corner or not. Obviously as the parent, you want to support your teen as much as you possibly can. The initial shock of getting over the news is one thing. We certainly don't want to get violent at that time. We do have horror stories of parents that might really hit the child for becoming pregnant, etcetera, but part of it is something that's been going on for a while. And in some case, parents are aware that the boyfriend and girlfriend is sleeping over and hadn't said anything about it and then they become surprised when in fact the child gets pregnant. Remember that there are many options for young ladies today. And depending on the maturity of your child, you want to sit with the child and make as many educated decisions as you can. There are planned parent counselors that you can go to. There are different counselors at YMCAs and community mental health centers to help you make a wise choice. The child may decide to keep the child. She may decide to give the child up for adoption. She may want to get married early and live with the father of the child. So in either case, you have to know all the facts in the case to see and weigh up the pros and cons of each situation. So your job as the parent or the adult parent is to be sure that your teen has access to all these information, and all of you together as a family make that decision hopefully for the benefit and the best interest of the new infant to be born. And I hope you don't have to meet with these issues but you never know. If you do, I wish you the best of luck. God bless.