Thank You Nancy Williams, for being brave enough to raise the issue of teen
mothers and graduation from high school.  This has been bothering me more and
more, and I have begun speaking up about it- testing the water, so to speak,
mostly with BF advocates.  But a few weeks ago, a local candidate for county
supervisor was at a party I attended, and he was talking about his 38 year
old brother, who was recently shot and killed trying to stop a 17 year-old
car thief.  He said "We need to do something about juvenile crime" and I
said- "By the time they're juveniles it's too late! "  This gave me an
opening to discuss attachment parenting and teen mother programs.

I told him he can go into any high school in town and find babies of teen
mothers left in a nursery with some older women who the school has hired to
look after them, while the teen mother is expected to be back in class WITHIN
TWO WEEKS OF GIVING BIRTH!  And for what?  So she can theoretically finish
high school and get a job.  There seems to me to be a major form of denial
going on here- not acknowledging these girls as mothers.    Meanwhile the
mother is not bonded to her child nor her child to her!  The cycle continues
into the next generation.

These girls are only going to have a year or two left in the public school
system, but they and their offspring may very well be in the public
assistance system for a very long time.  It seems in our society's best
interest to use the time we have with those young mothers teaching the skills
they need to be good mothers, and so raise their children to be good
citizens.  Maybe they won't necessarily be able to pass a math test- but is
this more important than passing the "mothering test?"  There are endless
options for reentry schooling and adult education.  I also think that if
these girls can be helped to really fall in love- in a really attached way-
to their babies, the likelihood of ANOTHER baby too soon will be greatly
reduced.  This is where breastfeeding enters into the picture!

The candidate for office was intrigued, and today I mailed him my copy of
"High Risk- Children Without a Conscience" by Ken Magid  I know I plugged
this book a while back but I can't help bringing it up again.  ( a quote:
 "Our national spotlight should be on the crib- not on the criminal- if we
are to change the future.  Infants who do not receive a warm welcome into the
world will seek their revenge...")  For anyone who is interested in this
topic- this book is must reading.

My LLL co-Leader and I are planning to form an independent coalition of
concerned parents in our community based upon this book and our general
knowledge of this subject.  We have a psychiatrist dad, several psychologist
moms, a pediatrician dad, several teachers, and social workers.  So, if
anyone wants to share ideas- I'm also interested!  I really do think this a
breastfeeding-related issue.

Sue Jacoby, IBCLC, LLLL and concerned citizen of a city with escalating
juvenile crime rates and apalling teen pregnancy rates  suejacoby@AOL