Teen birth rate in Fall River, MA is 175% higher than the state as a whole. We report the impact of a novel program put together by the Early Intervention Program (EIP), and the Fall River School System, with the objectives of continuing teen education during/after pregnancy, supporting the teenage mother and preventing recidivism. Funded through a grant from the Dept. of Social Services, it enrolls pregnant students in home tutoring during pregnancy and helps them in infant care after delivery. Once the teen delivers, the enrolled teen-newborn dyad is encouraged to come back to school, where day care is provided for infants, secluded from active areas, but with easy access. The staff, licensed in child care provides feeding, toiletry, physical and developmental health evaluations, encourages the mothers in taking care of their babies during free time, and well baby visits for immunizations.

Results: The table shows teenage delivery rates for Fall River, the number of pregnant students enrolled in home tutoring, and infants enrolled in day care in recent years. The increased enrollment (from 16 to 23) is due to relicensure for expansion in 1993-94. There is a waiting list of infants to avail the services.

Table 1
Full size table

Discussion: This tertiary prevention program mainstreamed 101 pregnant teens to complete high school in the past 9 years, 25% of them enrolled in colleges later. By comparison, 80% teen mothers who were not enrolled in this program dropped out of school. Only 2 of the enrolled teens got pregnant again while in school, clearly the program was a strong deterrent for repeat pregnancy. In addition, there is close to 100% compliance for infant immunization. We conclude that this intervention program helps prevent school drop out, recidivism and increases infant immunization.