Identifying Risks

Statistics from the survey confirm the vulnerability of this population and illus- trate the risk of intergenerational poverty transmission as well as health risks. The data on these households indicate that they face many more economic chal- lenges than the average Brazilian family (See table Descriptive Statistics). The children also face health risks more than the average family served by the Pas- toral da Crianca. Within the 2nd and 3rd regions of Salvador 5% of children had diarrhea in the last month, as reported by their mothers. In this popula- tion of only teen mothers, we had 35.5%. 3 4 _{The World Health Organization}

recommends that babies not be weaned until two years and breast fed exclu-

3_{The age of the baby is positively correlated with diarrhea reporting (.24 at 99%), implying} that these numbers are probably not skewed by new mothers incorrectly identifying infant feces as diarrhea.

4_{All statistics in this paragraph calculated from my data are significantly different from the} comparison reference with 99% confidence.

sively for six months. Of the 114 children under two years of age, only 67.5% are still breastfed. Of the 47 infants in my sample six months or younger, 31.9% are exclusively breastfeed and of the 41 infants four months or younger, 34.1% are exclusively breastfed. 5 _{Finally, within the Pastoral 87.15% of children have}

complete vaccinations for their age while I find that 71% of children of teenagers have not completed the vaccinations within 2 months of the schedule,6_however,

within 1 year and two months of the schedule, 85% of children of teenagers do complete the regimen. We cannot compare this to the Pastoral, since this statis- tic is not offered, but the World Health Organization reports that in 2008 vaccine coverage in the entire country was 96%.

Within the literature on teen mothers, another concern for child develop- ment is the limited nurturance teens impart to their children (Oyserman, Radin, and Saltz). This, in turn, hinders the child’s development. Statistically, both teens and grandmothers agree that the grandmother is a better care-giver and my own observations also align with this story. For example, I often saw them lift their children by one arm to transport them small distances, or over low bar- riers, like a big step or into a playpen. One young mother disturbed me greatly by bouncing her baby on her lap in the same manner one would shake a rag doll. The baby didn’t seem to know what to make of it, too agitated to cry. While I as- sume this young woman was on drugs due to the utter jitteriness of her actions, the other teens are careless with their children due to haste and immaturity; with their limited parenting experience, teens can lack a conscientiousness of how their actions affect their children, hindering development.

5_{17 In the Pastoral 62.2% (region 2) and 53.4% (region 3) of six-month-olds are exclusively} breast fed and 59.3% (region 2) and 87.5% (region 3) of four-month-olds are exclusively breast fed.

6_{Many children over four did not have vaccines for tetravirus and rotavirus indicated on the} vaccination card, so I did not include these this in the calculation of the statistic, though they

On a psychological level, I observed teens blaming their children. This sub- tle point was not included on the survey, as it was something I observed later. In the eyes of their mothers, it was the child’s fault that they were crying, and that they were misbehaving, and that they had gotten hurt. Occasionally the kids would get swatted for such behavior. 7 _{I asked my therapist about the im-}

plications of such treatment. In addition to aggression building - either directed inward or outward - the blaming cycle continues. The “pass the buck” mental- ity certainly exists in these families, but grandmothers yell at their daughters to care for their children and the daughters blame the children for getting them in trouble. While blaming and lack of nurturance are not exclusive traits of teen mothers, they are ones that can impede the development of the child and must be addressed.

The story of the family of my data entry personnel illustrates the complicated family life of a teen mother, highlighting concerns for the child: When Viviane first told Josefa she was pregnant, Josefa was upset, but soon she assimilated the news and wanted to help her daughter have a healthy baby. Jadison, is indeed a chubby little tyke - I fell in love with his smile and he fell in love with my Nalgene. Unfortunately Viviane has a nervous personality, having fallen into illnesses due to hypertension, and is now going through an adolescent crisis, as Josefa has diagnosed it. In addition to attempting to establish independence from her parents, she is also wishing she were independent of Jadison. She hits him, and Josefa becomes furious at Viviane. Due to this mistreatment, Josefa has insisted they put Jadison in daycare, even though their financial situation is tight. Josefa would like Viviane to be more conscientious. Yet the responsibility lies on Viviane to parent her child; Josefa is not yet willing to completely take

7_{Once, on a house visit, I dropped a baby and the grandmother scolded the baby for crying} instead of me for dropping it!

over the mothering role, though she participates in the baby’s care and scolds Viviane to do so better.

The survey has quantitatively confirmed poverty and health risks and qual- itative research has identified developmental and psychological risks: a case is made that intervention targeted at these families of teen mothers is important to minimize these risks and to help these youngsters overcome these disadvan- tages.