High schoolers want maternity leave

Sure give them the maternity leave and don't punish them with unexcused absences, but it should act like "snow days" in the east. These girls should have to make up the time that they missed in summer school or some other alternative where they take the classes that they missed. Independant studies are usually available where they can take off as much time they need without penalty.

I understand that the body does need time to heal, but these girls shouldn't expect to take an extended vacation out of class and still pass. Most semesters are only 3 to 4 months long and you can't expect to pass the class if you've missed more than half of the class time.

When I was in high school they had special classes for pregnant girls. Not like special education, but it taught them to care for their bodies, then for their babies once they were born and they recieved EXTRA units for taking this class. Unfortunately it was a sorely abused system and some girls would stay pregnant throughout high school just to graduate high school. Our school system also provided childcare for the girls as soon as they came back to school whether baby was one day or two years old. The children were taken care of by all the pregnant girls and new moms in the special class.

So there are alternatives for these girls and they are given the chance to breastfeed if that is what they choose. Unfortunately most teenage mothers don't choose to breastfeed, not out of the inconvienence of no time, but out of being selfish and not even considering the possibility that it might be better for their children.

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I had my first daughter the month before my senior year started, my high school had this thing where a teacher comes to your house and brings your homework and tests and other stuff home from your teachers and she stays there for about 1 to 2 hrs, take some of your work back to your teachers and you still have homework to do. as soon as your doctor tells you that you are fine to go back to school then you go back. I had my daughter on august 16, 2003 and didn't go back until the beginning of October 2003. I still GRADUATED with my class!!!

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Where I come from, they offered in-home tutoring to the girls for a while after they had their babies. They don't do that in other states? I agree it's awful to make all girls go physically back to school so soon. But they shouldn't get off the hook from meeting their educational requirements either.

Incidentally, lots of working moms go back to work right after the child's birth. One of my managers literally came back the next day after giving birth - though she didn't keep her usual 16-hour days for a while. But, the birth experience is so different for each woman, it should be pretty standard to have some weeks off at least.

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I could not have walked far without support the day after coming home from the hospital following the birth of either of my 2 children (both C-sections). I took painkillers for at least a couple of days with each kid too. I can't imagine attempting to be a productive student (or even walking to class and carrying books) under those circumstances. We won't even talk about the degree of sleep deprivation you face from a baby who can't sleep 8 hours at a time at that stage.

That does not even begin to address the needs of the baby. A two-day old baby should be with its mother. Separating them would discourage the mother from breastfeeding (if they want her in class at 2 days postpartum, I doubt they'll give her time to pump!), which encourages formula use, something that is expensive and less-than-ideal healthwise for both mom and baby. A teen mother probably qualifies for WIC, but there's no need to ask the state to pay for hundreds of dollars of formula a month when a perfectly healthy mom might be breastfeeding given a reasonable opportunity.

Besides, who on earth provides childcare for a newborn baby? If that teen mother could even afford daycare (yeah, right), most facilities wouldn't even take them until they're 6weeks old at a minimum. So sending the mom back to school that early probably forces her to rely on a relative for child care. Or just quit.

Most employers consider you disabled for 6-8 weeks following a routine birth, and if they allow someone recovering from any other surgery to take time off (paid or unpaid) to recover, they also must allow time off following childbirth. Why would our education system not follow the same standard?

Perhaps if the school adminstrators treated their students with the same level of respect and dignity that they themselves receive, then the outcomes for teen mothers and their babies would improve.

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I AGREE THAT THEY SHOULD HAVE MATERNITY LEAVE. ITS HARD ENOUGH BEING A TEEN PARENT BUT ITS EVEN HARDER IF YOU DONT FINISH SCHOOL. AND TIME OFF WITH OUT PENALTY COULD BE A DECIDING FACTOR OF WHEATHER OR NOT THESE GIRLS WILL FINISH SCHOOL.
AFTER HAVING A BABY YOU NEED TIME TO HEAL, PHYSICALLY AND MENTALLY. YOUR NOT SUPPOSED TO CARRY ANYTHING HEAVIER THAN YOUR BABY FOR WEEKS, DOCTORS ORDERS. AND THOSE BOOKS CAN WEIGHT LIKE 20 POUNDS IN A BACK PACK. ON TOP OF THAT MENTALLY YOU ARE TIRED AND ADJUSTING TO LIFE WITH A BABY SO IT'S HARD TO LEARN AND CONSENTRATE ON OTHER SUBJECTS.
IM ACTUALLY SPEAKING FOR A SIMILAR EXPERIENCE. DURING MY THIRD SEMESTER IN COLLEGE I WAS PREGNANT WITH MY SECOND CHILD. WHILE PREGNANT I FOUND IT HARD TO FOCUS ON MY STUDIES. I WAS ALWAYS TIRED AND MY BODY WAS AKWARD AND HURTING AT TIMES. MY GRADES WENT DOWN. THEN AFTER I HAD MY DAUGHTER I HAD TO GO BACK TO CLASSES AND IT WAS EVEN HARDER TO CONSENTRATE OR EVEN STAY AWAKE TO LISTEN TO LECTURES. I ENDED UP DROPPING 2 OF MY CLASSES JUST TO MAKE IT THROUGH THE SEMESTER, EVEN THEN MY GRADES STILL SUFFERED.
SO IM ALL FOR MATERNITY LEAVE FOR STUDENTS. THEY SHOULD EXTEND IT TO COLLEGE STUDENTS TOO.

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Ok, I'm having a really hard time keeping my head from exploding over this whole thing, since we shouldn't HAVE to consider this. But we do, so...

I agree, generally, with what's being said. Taking care of a newborn and being expected to go *anywhere* outside the house is crazy. I was one of the lucky ones who didn't have to work, and I was surrounded by family in those first few weeks.

The best solution seems to be SKL's - tutors or homeschooling. Allow the new moms to be at home, with their baby. Less stress for both, the education continues, and the "is my baby ok without me?" anxiety is eliminated. I know, in those first few weeks... heck, even *now*, four years later... I worried when I wasn't with him.

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I agree with LS and SKL provided the young woman is well enough to do classwork at home. I had my youngest on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving 35 years ago and went back to work the following Monday. Not everyone could or should do that. (I had a preemie and saved my leave until he came home from hospital so it made sense to me).

In my town, teen motherhood is almost an epidemic. Anything that will help them complete at least high school and prepare them for employment works for me.

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I should have said we have one high school campus here which provides on site day care. The young mothers to be and mothers who attend learn child care and other skills while pregnant and help care for their own babies between classes. So far as I know, attendance at that high school isn't mandated; they can continue at their regular school but without the advantages provided by the "baby" campus.

It's working well here although not as well as trying to stem the tide in the first place.

I should have added as well that I see nothing wrong with going directly back to school, depending on the young mom's health. Different problems, different solutions.

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And what about breastfeeding? I was thinking to myself that they would almost need to bring the baby along, at least for awhile. I would fight for it now though I wouldn't have known to do that back then.

That might be a successful indirect way of getting other kids to think about what it means to have a baby, if other kids saw some of what it was like to take care of a baby. Though it could go the other way "Your baby is SO CUTE! Can I hold her?" And it could also be very distracting for the other students. I realize that. But still...

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I think that new teenage mothers should be granted maternity leave. I think that the class should organize a baby shower for them. Why not? Unless the object of the exercise is to punish the mother/

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I recentlty finished attending a continuation school in CA. The school was wonderful, you were permitted maternity leave, if you were breastfeeding, the on site day care would call you out of class and let you feed or pump. Teen parents would attend to their children during the lunch hour and attend a parenting class and receive elective credits for attending. I graduated a year early with a 3.8 gpa. and my son is a happy healthy child.

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