FROM TEEN MOM TO CYBERMOM

1
FROM TEEN MOM TO CYBERMOM

• Using the web to support pregnant teens and young
  mothers

2
Teen Mothers Statistics

• Rate of births to teen mothers has varied widely
  in the industrialized world (UN, 1994)
• Lowest rates, Japan and Switzerland (4 or 5/1000)
• Highest rate, US (64/1000)
• Canada ranked midway (27/1000), 21st of 42
  countries
• In Canada, about 11 of first births are to
  teenage mothers
• this has been stable in the last decade

3
Births to Teen Mothers in Sudbury

• Sudbury has a higher rate of births to teen
  mothers compared to the provincial average
• Fewer teens have abortions in Sudbury
• During the 1990s, each year there were
  approximately 170 births to teen mothers in
  Sudbury
• Nearly all of these teens retain custody of their
  children

4
Stigma

• Teen mothers hit a number of hot buttons in the
  public mind
• adolescent sexuality
• dropping out of school
• welfare dependency
• premature shift to adulthood
• People often look down on teen mothers and they
  feel the sting of public disapproval

5
Government Cut-Backs Target Young Mothers

• Cuts to social assistance
• Restrictions on eligibility for income support
  programs
• Mandatory school or work for welfare, workfare,
  LEAP
• Disproportionate effect on women, especially
  young women and single mothers

6
Womens PovertyHigher rates of poverty for women
in northern Ontario

• Young mothers and single mothers in Sudbury face
  a high probability of living in poverty
• Over two-thirds of families headed by single
  women live below the poverty line
• Approximately three-quarters of families headed
  by teenage parents are poor families

7
Programs Not Sensitive to the Needs of Young
Parents

• Emotional needs of
• Young women who have experienced traumatic events
• Survivors of child abuse
• Premature babies
• Childhood illness
• Abusive relationships with boyfriends

8
Creating Cybermoms

• GoalTo develop a computer-mediated peer support
  group in order to
• deal with the social isolation of teen mothers
• overcome the barriers to communication stemming
  from transportation issues and geographic
  dispersal
• empower the participants
• enable teen mothers to be participants in cyber
  society

9
Cybermoms Much More than Computers

• A full-time Community Worker available online
  and for home visits
• Monitors chat
• Supports participants
• Makes referrals
• A part-time computer technician available for
  troubleshooting on-line, by phone, or in-home
• Website, ICQ live chat, and secure chat room for
  information and sharing experiences, advice, and
  material things.

10
Cybermoms Workshops

• Regular workshops bring participants together for
  computer training
• Presentations on topics such as child birth,
  parenting, health, mental health, first aid, and
  legal issues.
• Gatherings for fun, crafts, and special projects.

11
Benefits of the Program

• Ending social isolation
• Social and emotional support
• Information
• Knowledge of computers/computer skills
• Writing and communication skills
• Access to employment

12
Are we missing the point by stigmatizing teen
mothers?

• Unless social conditions change dramatically, the
  rate of births to teens is likely to continue
• Negative attitudes and punitive treatment harms
  young mothers and their children
• Nurturing them makes more sense
• They thrive when we show them we care and support
  their needs as young women and parents and their
  children also thrive

13
Political Awareness and ActionSpeaking Out on
International Womens Day