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Teenage Single Mothers And Cultural Expectations
from: Karlie BestlerMost families do not want to hear that their teenage daughter is pregnant. However, teenagers of different cultures can face severe expectations. When a teenager's family is an ethnic minority or of a particular faith that has cultural beliefs that value virginity or has specific maternal expectations, her choices may be limited and her life planned for her from the moment she announces she is pregnant. In some cases, her family may not support her and turn her out as a disgrace or worse.
The Expectation of Virginity
Some cultures won't talk about sex in the home. Sex education, especially for females, is not encouraged or even allowed. The females in these cultures that value virginity don't have information on the protection of birth control should they become sexually active.
In addition, once a teenager becomes pregnant, the teenage single mother's family may insist the adolescent marry early or live at home to raise the child. Adoption and abortion may not be considered options in different cultures or faiths. The teenage mother's education is halted, and her chances of becoming a stable, independent provider for her children ended.
Other cultures may find the teenage mother's condition so offensive to their family honor that they may try to harm the expectant mother or abandon her. It is important to have counseling for the teenage single mother's family as well as the adolescent mother to take into account cultural and religious belief systems if this is the case.
The Expectation of Marriage
In some cultures, a pregnant teenage must marry to protect the family honor. It doesn't matter what her age is. In the U.S. minors aren't allowed to marry without the consent of their parents. Marriage is seen differently in other cultures, and arranged marriages for a teenage girl to a much older man are arranged to avoid having the disgrace of a teenage single mother.
Once the teenager is pregnant a her family will pressure her into marrying if their culture demands it. The lack of support for unwed mothers in other cultures causes emotional trauma for the young single mother.
Counselors and schools that deal with other cultures are often not aware of the difference in how culture influences the expectations of a teenage single mother's family. The issue of teenage single mothers and the different cultural norms and expectations can make getting help for teen mothers a more sensitive issue requiring more indepth cultural understanding and counseling.
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