When we asked teen mothers what had been the most difficult part of their experience, many of them mentioned the lack of community and the lack of support. Due to social stigma and rejection, many of these young women spend their entire pregnancy without anyone to confide in ; some even mentioned that they were embarrassed to go to the store because people would gossip. Although these young women faced countless other obstacles with their pregnancies, again and again they told us that they just wanted to feel accepted and have someone to talk to.

So, when we launched our Young Mothers Program early this year, we knew we had to make that a priority. During our planning sessions, our staff discussed different ways that we could intentionally create a safe community for the teen mothers to enjoy each other’s company. We knew we needed to complement our technical trainings about breastfeeding, infant stimulation or first aid with spaces to share about individual experiences and challenges.

We found quickly that it was not hard to convince young pregnant women to attend trainings to learn about parenting skills; no one wanted to pass up the chance to learn about motherhood. The girls came with questions both before and after their pregnancies.

But building community and trust amongst the young women themselves presented a new challenge. We found that most of the pregnant teenagers had already seen each other in the community but had not made any connection. The public shame was so isolating that they couldn’t express themselves, even to other young women in the same situation. At first, even in  private spaces for our workshops, few were ready to open up and share about their experiences.

But, month by month, class by class, something began to change amongst them. Suddenly, the pregnant teens began arriving in pairs, one stopping to pick the other up on the way. Young women began confiding in one another about problems with their parents, and discussing the best baby name options. Soon, all of the young women were sharing about their fears and excitement regarding their pregnancies and offering each other advice and support. When their babies were born, they celebrated with one another. In the privacy of our support groups and trainings, they began to trust each other.

In our last support group of 2019, our staff was able to see just how much of an impact forming a community has had on these young women. The girls who began 2019 as pregnant teens now come regularly, with their babies and diaper bags in tow; they each make time for each other and for us. This time, though, they each came with different foods for a surprise end of the year party for our staff and for one another. Our center became full of young mothers bustling around preparing food and drinks. They sat together, comparing the development of their babies and sharing baby wipes and diapers. One of the young women looked up and said, “all of these babies are going to grow up together.”

This was the original goal of the Young Mothers Program and as 2019 comes to a close, we couldn’t be more thankful for the community that has formed. Each month, this program continues to help more and more young women learn about motherhood; what we are seeing now is that they are also helping one another.