Child Development Assessment
Background
The children of teen mothers experience serious health consequences as well. A child born to a teen mother is as twice as likely to die before the age of 1 as the child of a woman in her 20s. Currently, 1 million infants of young mothers die every year worldwide as results of pregnancy and childbirth related causes. If they survive, these infants tend to have higher rates of low birth weight, premature birth, and infant mortality. Health problems associated with poor perinatal outcomes, lower IQ and academic achievement later on. After birth, infants of teen mothers are more likely to have poorer health care and inadequate nutrition as a result of their young mothers’ poor feeding behavior as compared to infants born to older mothers. The effects of poor child nutrition can be seen throughout the life course, with negative impacts on educational attainment and health into adulthood. Many teen parents and their babies are at significant disadvantages because of poverty and inadequate parenting skills.
There is a need to improve linear growth of children in low income setting through integrated health nutritional, environmental and care interventions in pre-pregnancy, pregnancy and early childhood
Our Parenting and Life skills
To achieve the maximum growth potential of infants and children living in poor households, women’s maternal, newborn and child health, TMRHP would like to carry out A parenting and Life skills intervention for Teen Mothers in greater Luweero districts-Uganda;
Self-administered computerized
questionnaires will be used to collect data at intake and child’s age of 12,24 and 36 months
In addition to questions to demographics
e.g. .mother’s and infant’s age, mother’s educational and residential status. Social factors like source of social or economic support and child care
To assess maternal parenting
self-esteem, adolescent adult parenting
To assess parenting
and child-rearing attitudes associated with risk for child maltreatment
To assess skills of daily living
communication and relationships. Repeated pregnancy data will be collected by patient report as well as review of medical records at 12,24, and 36 months. Participants will complete satisfaction questionnaires after completing each intervention session
Self-administered computerized
questionnaires will be used to collect data at intake and child’s age of 12,24 and 36 months
Areas of Testing
Adolescent mother parenting profile and life skills will be tested in groups of 12, 24 and 36 month’s children follow up baseline in the following areas applied to the teen mothers
- Maternal self esteem
- Care taking ability
- Preparedness for mothering role
- Acceptance of infants
- Expected relationship with infants
- Perception of childbearing experience
- Parenting profile
- Empathy towards child’s needs
- Usual corporal punishment
- Child’s power and independence
- Life skills and life style
- Parent-child role and responsibilities
- Housing and money management
- Safety of the child and the mother