Advocacy in Child Care

Group Members
Afroza Akther, Dilshad Koly, Jyoti Dahal, Khelna Saha Ghosh
Mehbuba Islam, Projna Majumder
Issue : Impact of low-income on Teen Pregnancy
Teen pregnancy affects not only the pregnant girl, but her
child, family, community, and the environment. Teen
pregnancy is more common among the young people in the
developed countries of the world where they are
disadvantaged in the childhood stage and suffer from low
expectations, morale, education and the job
opportunities. Literature related to teen pregnancy shows
that among the young people living in poverty, there has been
a teen pregnancy rate which was five times higher than the
average rate. Literature also shows that Socio-economic
circumstances sometimes play a major role in the increasing
rate of teen pregnancy.
Stakeholders:
There exists a number of stakeholders who are directly affected
from this issue and to deal with it, various organizations, local
community centre, day care centres, government and
private/charitable are offering services related to the health
and wellbeing for the women especially for teen mothers living
in low income families. However, the following are the main
stakeholders for this research:
• Children
• Parents
• School Teachers
• Community
Stakeholders:(Continue…)
Few organizations actively working to provide supports are:

• Scarborough Woman Center – supports especially the

teen parents.
• Access Alliances - Provide different supports, including
teen parents.
• YWCA - Providing help to rearing the child and teen
parents.
• Rosalie Hall
• Massey Center
Importance or Concern to ECE Field or
Children 0-12 Years
• Teen pregnancy has socioeconomic impact that influences
child development. As an ECE, we need to understand the
impact and act accordingly. Due to cyclical effect on
generations, ECE should advocate to create awareness so that
the effect does not roll up to the children.
• Teen mother suffers to raise their children with appropriate
child care responsibility. As an ECE, it is important to create
awareness and generate support for such a family both
mother and children.
• Teen pregnancy creates problem for children’s healthy
development, so it is important to ensure both the children
and mother’s healthy developmental opportunity. T-shirt for awareness
How can teen pregnancy be prevented?
(By Afroza )
Research Summary:
The age of 13-19 years considered as teenage, which is very important period of life for individual. This age is
risky as well, in this age they need proper guidance through their family, friends and community. Improper
guidance could lead them to destroy their life, and the consequences could be anything, like depression,
addiction, drop-off from school, and depression could lead them for suicide too. The consequences of frustration
could push them to get addicted in drugs, involve violence, they also can choose the way to prostitution. The
reasons that leads teenagers to this kind of unwanted life are peer pressure, lack of knowledge about the
consequences of unabundant sex, family collation etc. The most common and easiest way for them is to involve in
sexual relationship with peers, and easily become pregnant. Sometimes it can occur accidently, but most of the
time poverty stands as the main reason for teenagers’. Increasing of young age pregnancy is getting worse day by
day. Although there are different ways to control the pregnancy, but prevention is better than controlling. When
teenagers involve in sexual relation they cannot think the consequences, they just enjoy. Family, society, and
government should take responsibilities to aware teenagers about the consequences of their pregnancy. Safer sex
will also help teenagers to get protection from getting any Sexually Transmitted Disease(STD). As Canada is a
multicultural country, there are people from different country and religion living here. Some religion also
protects people from teenage sex, because some religion does not allow sexual relation before marriage. So if
people follow their own religion and culture, they could stay safe from teen pregnancy. Another form of
prevention of teenagers pregnancy is that they should taught in schools is various contraceptive techniques. We
can discuss the prevention of teenagers pregnancy in two different way : (1) Continuing with sexual relation , and
(2) Beyond sexual relation. For the consequences we can say that teenagers are not physically ready yet to give
birth of a baby, it is a risk for both of mother and the newborn baby’s life. Both of them can die at the time of
giving birth or one of them can die. On the other hand, most of the teen mother are single, and they become
frustrated. Frustration lead them to use drugs, so they are unfit for the society and government needs to take
care of them. This way the violence will increase by them, and it effects badly in neighbourhood. This kind of
environment is not good for a child to grow up.
 Where can the teen parents get support?
(By Dilshad)
Research Summary:
• YWCA: The YWCA agency worked for long time greater Toronto area. They support the teen mother and
their children. The purpose of the Teen Mothers’ Program is to provide support to young mothers and their
children with a focus on developing positive parenting and life management skills. They offer a variety of
services and resources for teen mothers, such as regular group meetings and child-centred activities for the
children. The teen mother can get support financially, emotionally, mentally and relationships. “YWCA
Toronto offers a free support program in Scarborough for mothers 14 to 22 years of age. In the Teen
Mothers' program, they offer opportunities to build positive parenting skills and access to resources that
support mothers on their parenting journey.”(YWCA. COM) When teens have children, their opportunities
are diminished right from that moment, many times resulting in a lifetime of poverty. Young parents need
access to programs that provide support and resources to teach them the skills they need to raise healthy
children.

• Rosalie Hall: Rosalie Hall offers an ongoing series of classes that help teen parents and their support
persons to prepare for birth. Topics include: pregnancy, growth and development, preparation for labour
and delivery, nutrition, child development, first weeks after the baby comes, health and well-being, and
forms that may need to be completed. Partners/other support persons are welcome and a snack and
transportation are provided A program offered in partnership with Toronto Public Health. This parenting
group addresses the transition to parenthood for parents with infants 0 to 9 months. Topics are determined
according to the needs of each group. Discussion focuses on increasing parent knowledge and sharing
strategies to assist in the transition to parenthood.
 How does low-income family affect on teen
pregnancy? (By Jyoti )
Research Summary:
Teenage pregnancy is a global crisis that occurs in 13 to 19- year- old girls. Becoming
pregnancy at this age may lead to many negative consequences such as, malnutrition, poor
health of baby and mother. It prevents mother from going to school and may lead to alcohol
and drug abuse. Although there are several factors leading to teen pregnancy such as, low
family income, illiteracy, culture and marriage at childhood, the primary contributor is the
low family income. Financial crisis results in the limited or no access to school, poor living
standard, and poor access to health care facility and employment opportunity. This
influences girls to get married at early age and give birth to baby when they are still
immature. Moreover, they do not have enough money to purchase birth control means,
such as condoms and pills and other forms of contraception. In some culture, due to
financial crisis, the parents cannot afford education, health care, food and clothes and
force their girls to get married earlier. As a result, the teenage girls become pregnant at
early age. Due to poverty, the teen girls establish relationship with rich people because
they get money for education, clothes, food and others which lead to sexual exploitation
and teenage pregnancy. In many instances, these girls become sexual victims of older men.
The government and the private agencies should play a key role in controlling teen
pregnancy through providing financial supports to the low- income family and educating
them about negative effects of teenage pregnancy. Moreover, the girls from poor
community should be granted access to better education, health benefits, employment
opportunity and birth control measures.
What are the consequences of this teen pregnancy?
(By Khelna)
Research Summary:

Teen pregnancy has prolonged effect on both teen mother and their children. The teen mother faces
difficulty in completion of their education because of pregnancy and after birth child care
responsibilities. It hinders the job seeking process increase the likelihood of living under poverty.
Research shows that teen mothers are disadvantaged both socially and economically. The teen
mother’s family also suffers due to the adverse effect and tends not to support the teen mother in any
possible way. Research also shows the teen mother often marries after the birth of the first children
and it even before the age of 20 and in many cases they do not often marry at all. Research also
suggests teen pregnancy has relationship with the poverty situation. Among the young people living in
poverty, there has been a teen pregnancy rate which was five times higher than the average rate. Socio-
economic circumstances sometimes play a major role in the increasing rate of teen pregnancy. For
some disadvantaged youth girls, low self esteem during maturity, lack of opportunity and hope
becomes the driving force for the teen pregnancy where the sexuality may be all they have to value.
Teenage mothers are more likely to go for separation and divorce more than adult mothers. The same
article shows that the teenage mothers are three times more likely to marry more than once. They also
tend to have larger families too. Teen pregnancy does not affect only the teen mother but it has a great
deal of repetitive cyclical effect on the children too. It has been observed that the children of the teen
mothers face similar situations in the future too. Our primary research also shows teen mothers are
feeling anxiety about their life situations and become frustrated about the outcome. In a nutshell, we
can conclude saying that teen pregnancy affects not only the pregnant girl, but her child, family,
community and the environment too.
 Why does teen pregnancy face poverty?
(By Mehbuba)
Research Summary:
Poverty in teen pregnancy is a common problem in our society. Teen
pregnancy faces poverty due to lack of education, unplanned life style, lack of
support from family members, less likeliness to go back to work after giving
birth, weak relationship between teen parents and lack of knowledge and
experience. It is very common that a teen mother gives birth of more children
in short period of time and they face similar problem again and again in their
life. Poverty becomes permanent in their life and more likely the children
from teen parents face similar problem in their life. In most cases teen
mother cannot complete college or university. In some cases due to pregnancy
they cannot even complete high school. So they become less capable to find a
job which pay good money and poverty become permanent in their life.
Usually teen fathers are also less educated and they earn less money. So they
cannot support mothers. Teen parents are more likely to take drugs and
alcohol abuse. They need extra money to support the expense of drugs and
alcohol.
What are the reasons for increasing teen pregnancy?
(By Projna)
• Research Summary:
Teenage pregnancy has become a growing concern and more widespread in
developed countries. After researching on different website articles, statistics,
I found many factors for increasing teen pregnancy. A lack of access to sexual
education is such a cause of pregnancy at a tender age. Teenagers have an
unintended pregnancy due to uneducated sex. Many times, they do not have
the proper knowledge to make the right decision in sexual activities. Many
teenagers believe common myths such as “you can’t get pregnant the first time
you have sex, you can’t get pregnant in certain sexual positions and you can’t
get pregnant if you have sex during your period”. The poor education is the
reason for believing the myths. Many teenagers are unaware of using
contraception and may be scared to go to their doctor or shy to talk with
family members and relatives about using contraception. Lack of sexual
education is not the only reason for teenage pregnancy. Like education, low-
income, poverty, peer presser, lack of discipline and control, sexual abuse can
affect the teenage pregnancy.
Action Plans:
•

• Proposal Making.
• Distribution of work among
groupmates
• Visited to Rosalie Hall as a group
• Made pamphlet and questionnaire for
survey.
• Checked the pamphlet and
questionnaire with our respected
professor.

Our Pamphlet
 Action Plans (Continue…)
• Made 5 placards to make people aware.

• Together went to buy T-shirts and design on it.

• Met with our professor to fix a date of our Survey in

campus. Displaying Placards
• Made a Bristol board.

• Set-up with table in front of CCSAI for survey and

engage with people passing-by.
• Walking with placards inside and outside of the
campus to make people aware to teen pregnancy.

Sharing advocacy message

Action Plans (Pictures)
Sharing Advocacy message with other students at Centennial College, Standing
with placards in front of the library for awareness, and as a group visited Rosalie
Hall
Our Survey:
No Comments
10%
According to our survey we found :
Partial
70% were supported to teen Support
20%
mothers
20% Supported partially.
10% did not provide any
comments.

Supported70%

Survey Questions
 Bibliography:
• http://www.ufcw.ca/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2433:by-the-numbers-income-distribution-and-the-poverty-
line&Itemid=306&lang=en
• http://pregnancy.lovetoknow.com/wiki/Pregnancy_Statistics_Teens
• http://www.kznhealth.gov.za/teenpreg.htm
• Rena Shimoni and Joanne Baxter, Working with families, sixth edition
• https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528810/#b8-pch12673
• https://www.statcan.gc.ca/eng/subjects/children_and_youth?text=teen+pregnency&subject_levels=20000&text-
go=%3Cspan+class%3D%22wb-inv%22%3ESearch%3C%2Fspan%3E
• Teen mom rates highest where income low: data. (2012, January 10). Retrieved February 10, 2018, from
https://www.insidehalton.com/news-story/2895055-teen-mom-rates-highest-where-income-low-data/
• Poverty and Teen Pregnancy. (n.d.). Retrieved February 11, 2018, from http://www.genderandhealth.ca/en/modules/poverty/poverty-
teen-pregnancy-01.jsp?r=
• Spectator, H. (2013, May 23). . Retrieved February 11, 2018, from https://www.thespec.com/opinion-story/2224509-mothers-too-soon/
• Briggs, G., Brownwell, M., & Roos, N. (2007). Teen Mothers and Socioeconomic Status: The Chicken-Egg Debate. Journal of the Motherhood
Initiative for Research and Community Involvement, 9(1).
• Pictures : Goggle.ca