Sean C. Morgan
Of The New Era
The Sweet Home Pregnancy Care Center is planning to restart its parent support group and create a mentoring program for single parents.
The Pregnancy Care Center had some 422 client visits in 2006, director Karen Bostrom said. In about three-fourths of those visits, clients watched educational videos on a variety of parenting skills, ranging from care of newborns to discipline, “a lot of educational videos that will hopefully help them in their parenting.”
Those who participate in the program can receive help in the form of practical things they may need, Bostrom said. That includes mattresses, cribs, car seats, clothing for the baby, maternity clothing and more, “basically anything we have that a parent or child can use.”
The center also tested women 99 times for pregnancy. Of those, 26 resulted in positive tests.
“That’s what we have been doing,” Bostrom said. Last year, the center began a new program, a parent support group. That program will start up again this month, although a date has not been set yet. Growing out of that, she wants to add a mentoring component.
The support group started in the spring but ended in the summer due to space considerations when children got out of school, Bostrom said. The support group met once a week and will meet on Fridays beginning this month.
It is open to everybody, Bostrom said, but teens and single parents, mostly mothers are typically the ones who attend.
“It was very successful,” Bostrom said. The group tackled a variety of topics, ranging from scrapbooking to nutrition and problems with discipline, “a lot of different topics that are hopefully going to be of interest to them and help them in their parenting.”
Samaritan Lebanon Community Hospital has been helping out working with girls on issues, like pregnancy, taking care of themselves during pregnancy and caring for their babies, Bostrom said.
The center wants to take it all just a bit further “to broaden our service to meet more of the needs in the community and to provide more resources,” Bostrom said. “The mentoring is a really effective way to help people move in a positive direction.”
The need in Sweet Home has been growing. In 2006, Sweet Home had 24 teen pregnancies, according to SLCH statistics. That doesn’t count teens who see a doctor elsewhere or do not see a doctor at all. That number is up five from 2005 and significantly up over previous years when it typically ran about 10 to 12, Bostrom said.
Of those 24, eight were 17 years old; eight were 16; six were 15; and two were 14. Two were a second pregnancy, and one was a third pregnancy. Nine of the girls were listed as homeless, and five were in drug and alcohol programs.
In the last three years specifically, the number of pregnant teens has increased dramatically for a small town, Bostrom said. The number of client visits to the center among all ages increased by 13 to 18 percent over the past three years. They ranged in age from 12 to 52. Most were in their late teens and early 20s, with many in the 14 to 15 range and many in their 40s.
A survey completed by Oregon Healthy Teens, part of the Oregon Department of Human Services, completed a survey of students in the eighth through 11th grades for the 2005-06 school year. Of 527 surveyed 11th graders, 399 reported being sexually active in the past three months. Of 199 eighth graders, 122 reported being sexually active within the last three months. Of those active, 34 percent of 11th graders and 12 percent of eighth graders reported using a condom.
The need, especially locally, is huge, Bostrom said. She said she saw a report “a couple of years ago” showing that Sweet Home was the number one city per capita for teen pregnancy in the state. She said she suspects Sweet Home could be number one again in 2006.
“My thing is to help people make better choices and maybe change their lifestyle,” Bostrom said. The approach is a little different than the mainstream.
That’s where the mentoring program may help, she said. They’ve been helpful in other communities.
It’s a program “where people can hook up with other ladies in the community,” she said. “Where they can walk with them through the hard times.”
“Mentoring” is kind of a buzzword right now, she said, but that may be because it’s working. It is effective in drug rehabilitation and other areas.
“We’re kind of compiling people that are interested in helping mentor,” Bostrom said, and anyone who is interested or in helping with the support group is encouraged to contact her at the office.
Right now, the support group may need a bigger place to meet as well, Bostrom said, and ideas are welcome. The center has been checking into possible meeting locations, which must be in the downtown area where most clients are within walking distance.
The Pregnancy Care Center is a nonprofit funded by donations, which are tax deductible. It offers its services to everyone, although the majority of its clients are low income.
The center is a Christian, pro-life organization, Bostrom said, but it is not sponsored by a specific church. Several churches help out in different ways.
The center operates on a budget of about $20,000 per year.
“If it helps just one person be a better parent, it’ll be worth it,” Bostrom said. “Hopefully, it will have more impact than that.”
Donations may be sent to P.O. Box 5, Sweet Home, OR 97386.
Bostrom can be contacted at 367-2447.