Support teenage mothers to care for their children

Samuel Atuahene Antwi, Nutritionist at the Tema Metropolitan Health Directorate, has called for the end of teenage pregnancy stigmatization and support them in understanding and caring for their child.

According to Samuel Antwi, inadequate parental care was one of the major problems in child healthcare, especially among teenage mothers.

He explained that teenage mothers were usually stigmatized and unsupported, therefore neglecting them to care for their children all by themselves.

He gave the advice during a health promotion dialogue, “Your Health! Our Collective Responsibility,” a Ghana News Agency Tema Regional Office initiative aimed at promoting health-related communication and providing a platform for health information dissemination in order to influence personal health choices through improved health literacy.

“Sometimes the pressure they receive from their peers and community discourages them from attending to their babies,” he added.

Samuel Antwi said that some health facilities, such as the Tema General Hospital, have designated days for teenage mothers to access the maternity center.

“We have adolescents in Ante Natal Care, so, if all pregnant women are supposed to come on Monday, the adolescent mother would come on a different day just so it would be only their peers,” she added.

He added that, sometimes, the adolescent health coordinators help them disguise themselves to prevent them from being stigmatized or criticized by society.