Pregnancy and Parenting among Runaway Girls

Abstract

WHILE sexual activity is often assumed to be frequent among runaway girls, the natural outcomes of that activity—pregnancy, childbearing, and child-rearing—are rarely discussed in the literature. Both theoretical and clinical evidence, however, suggest that the alienated adolescent is not only likely to be sexually active, but she is also likely not to use effective contraceptives and not to terminate a pregnancy. On the contrary, she may tend to welcome pregnancy, to fantasize about the benefits of motherhood, and to believe that her baby will solve her own life-long problems. The alienated young mother's poverty, her inadequate nutrition, her failure to seek prenatal care promptly and her substance abuse put her offspring at high risk.