Young Mothers Program Seeks Mentors For Teenage Girls

from The Children's Hospital (TCH) News, June 2005

Sibyl Newton, left, social worker in The
Children’s Hospital’s Colorado Adolescent
Maternity Program (CAMP), also known as
the Young Mothers Clinic, and Jeanelle
Sheeder, research coordinator, recently
launched a program for the younger
sisters of the girls in CAMP.

With the addition of any new baby to a family, there is a sense of excitement and a sense of satisfaction.

But for many teens throughout Colorado, having a baby is the easiest way to find a purpose.

“They get a lot of positive reinforcement for it,” said Jeanelle Sheeder, research coordinator for The Children’s Hospital’s Colorado Adolescent Maternity Program (CAMP), also known as the Young Mothers Clinic. “But unfortunately it sends the wrong message to the younger girls – that this is a good alternative to what they could do otherwise.”

CAMP, one of the oldest adolescent-oriented maternity programs in the United States, was founded in 1978 to help teen mothers with their babies and to encourage them to stay in school. It was founded as the Young Mothers Clinic by the departments of Pediatrics and Obstetrics-Gynecology at the University of Colorado at Denver and Health Sciences Center.

CAMP patients have their prenatal appointments and give birth at University Hospital, and then are seen at Children’s for all of their postpartum appointments.

“The beauty of the Young Mothers Clinic is we’re able to see the babies and the moms together in one appointment,” Sheeder said.

CAMP staffers invest in each mother to help the babies live good lives. From breastfeeding to discipline and graduation, CAMP supports these girls throughout their journeys.

Over the years, staff in the CAMP program noticed a disturbing trend: many of the teen mothers had younger sisters who watched their sibling receive praise for having a baby at a young age.

“These girls have a higher risk of getting pregnant than their peers,” said Sibyl Newton, CAMP social worker and director of the Little Sister Program.

This program, funded through gifts from the Marsico and Rose foundations, was launched in May to target the more than 70 little sisters of the 200 to 250 teen moms seen in the CAMP program each year. The program, for girls aged 12 to 14, aims to help families who have experienced one teen pregnancy prevent another through extensive mentoring.

“We want to get the little sisters enthused about something besides being at home and getting pregnant,” Newton said.

The Little Sister Program currently is seeking 20 mentors in health-care professions who are willing to spend one to two hours each month with a girl who needs a positive and supportive role model. CAMP staff would like to recruit mentors willing to commit to a year of mentoring, but will consider those willing to commit to six months.

“We are seeking mentors to help these girls realize they can achieve more, that they are capable of going to college, and that they have the power to impact their lives rather than life controlling them,” Newton said.

Many of the girls feel empty and isolated, she said; a mentor can provide stability and encouragement.

“A lot of these kids don’t have parents who are really into helping them,” Newton said. “They’re busy with other things. When you ask the girls what their goals are, they can’t come up with any answer.”And unlike many girls whose parents will take the time to sit down with them and explain how to fill out job applications, the girls in this program often lack that level of support.

“They don’t have a lot of exposure to parents who have gone to college or who even finished high school,” Sheeder said. “The Little Sisters program sort of puts them in the realm of the possibility of going to college. We hope to help them see what that can have and can do.“I think CAMP is one of the few places girls can come where they feel valued and people are really willing to help them and take care of them.”

The program will hold weekly meetings for the girls to talk about what they have learned from their mentors and to share family, relationship and school concerns.The program’s ultimate goal is to educate little sisters about the positives of not getting pregnant.

“You do honestly feel like by doing one small thing you have made a huge difference in the lives of these girls,” Sheeder said.

For more information about the Little Sister Program or to become a mentor, contact Sibyl Newton at x5750 or snewton44@aol.com.