Nine women imprisoned for fatal child maltreatment were interviewed concerning their perceptions of interactions with their children, pregnancy and childbirth, mother-child separations and reunions, child development, rejection, children's behavior, and prior child abuse. Interpretation of their children as developmentally abnormal and…

Describes the programs at the Pregnancy to Parenthood Family Center, an organization that integrates psychotherapy, support, and educational services for multiproblem Marin County, California, families experiencing high levels of stress and inadequate resources during pregnancy and the first three years of parenting. Examines services,…

Discusses fertility of Hispanic adolescents in the United States. Summarizes what is known about sexuality, contraception, pregnancy, and childbearing among male and female Hispanics of various countries of origin. Indicates Hispanic adolescent birthrates fall between those of non-Hispanic Whites and Blacks, but there is considerable within-group…

This report presents 2000 data on U.S. births, highlighting maternal demographics (e.g., age, race, Hispanic origin, marital status, and educational attainment); maternal characteristics (medical risk factors, weight gain, and tobacco and alcohol use); medical care utilization during pregnancy women (e.g., prenatal care, labor and/or delivery…

Intended for adults working with expectant and new teen mothers, this guide provides techniques and strategies for helping the teen mother develop skills needed to achieve parenting and life goals. The first half of the guide explores the relationship between the adult mentor and teen parent, and steps toward problem solving and positive change.…

This report examines the extent to which welfare reform is changing adolescent behaviors that lead to welfare dependency. It begins by discussing the provisions in the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996 that require teenagers to stay in school and live with a parent, concluding that relatively little can be…

This policy brief highlights the interrelationship between sports participation and teen pregnancy prevention, noting barriers that have prevented sports from being utilized in teen pregnancy prevention. Discrimination against girls and women in school sports persists 30 years after Congress enacted Title IX, and this prevents girls and young…

Two national surveys, one of youth ages 12 to 19 and the other of adults over age 19 years, examined attitudes toward teen pregnancy. Respondents express more cautious attitudes toward early and casual sex than is generally believed, and large majorities of both groups support a strong abstinence message for teens coupled with information about…

Plain Talk is a community-based initiative designed to assist neighborhood groups and residents in creating and implementing locally acceptable and effective strategies to protect sexually active youth from pregnancy. Plain Talk aims to affect individual, neighborhood, and community behavior through a process that focuses on helping adults develop…

"The Most Important Nine Months of Your Life" is a program that zeroes in on causes and prevention of birth defects. Program content and instructional strategies are discussed. Topics covered include: birth defects, genetic causes of birth defects, errors during development, environmental influences, and development. Includes list of preventive…

The director of the Birth Defects Center at the University of California at San Francisco addresses the reasons for developing good ways of teaching human genetics. Genetic counseling is discussed within the context of several case histories. (SA)

In follow-up studies conducted 36 hours, 3 months, and 12 months after delivery, maternal behavior, infant behavior, the duration of breast feeding, and attitudes toward child rearing procedures were shown to develop differently among mothers and infants receiving physical contact soon after birth as compared to control subjects who were briefly…

Research on social services for pregnant teenagers should provide more information about these clients and their needs as well as the services available to them. Constructive suggestions can then be offered to influence public policy. (JAC)

The board that advises the Secretary of HEW on ethics has given a qualified approval for further review of federal funding for research on human embryos conceived in the laboratory. Issues and concerns that influenced the board's decision are addressed. (JMD)

Explores selected family and individual factors among Mexican American women and two comparison groups of African American and non-Hispanic White women for achieving a graduate degree (master's, Ph.D.). Analysis includes the finding that early child bearing (before or during college) was the strongest predictor of Mexican American women not…