The quote of the day

"She is smart but.."


He didn't say anything else. I guess he realized how stupid this sounded. This is the FOB (father of the baby) talking. I am discussing how to spend the next three to four months in the hospital with an 18 year old mother to be. She has already lost one baby when she delivered prior to viability. This pregnancy is going to require a hospital stay and she has not yet graduated from high school.

These young parents are not typical of the ones I see. They have a laptop. She reads a novel every couple of days. I see no reason why she could not get her GED online. I did not ask him what he is doing in terms of work or school. He is here most days and they are from a town 70 miles away. Most women in this situation are here by themselves during the week, with husbands, parents, and even children visiting on the weekend.

I have great hope though. There is now talk on the unit, among the social workers, with the nurses about setting up study seasons for the GED exam. There may even be a nurse who gets her certification to proctor such exams. I would love for these young women to leave here with more than another mouth to feed.

A high school diploma, a GED, perhaps even a skill, might put them further along the path of being able to sustain themselves and their children without government assistance. A healthy baby, contraception, and a way to support themselves are worthy goals and we seem to be a few steps closer to providing all of these.