Perinatal Mental health Support for Teens: What It IS and Why It’s Critical for Teen Moms
The perinatal period begins at the start of pregnancy and lasts for the year after you give birth. For all moms, this time can be difficult, overwhelming, and full of big changes. For teen moms, you’re dealing with everything that comes with pregnancy and becoming a new mom, as well as typical teenage difficulties around school, friendships, romance, and developing your adult identity. And that…is not easy.
All moms need support during this time, but perinatal mental health for teens is of particular concern. Teenage pregnancy is associated with mental health problems like depression, substance abuse, and PTSD, making emotional support for teen moms an essential part of perinatal care.1
Though teen pregnancy is declining, almost 4% of moms giving birth in 2023 were teenagers.2 That’s a lot of teen moms who need support! This page will explore what perinatal mental health support for teens is and what options there are for teen moms who need it.
Let’s dive in!
Why Do Teen Moms Need Perinatal Support?
Teen moms need more support over the perinatal period for several reasons. The first relates to the way in which teen moms are more likely to suffer with their mental health.
Teenage pregnancy and depression are a serious concern, with teen moms experiencing depression more frequently than their non-pregnant peers and women who fall pregnant in adulthood. While the stressors of pregnancy and motherhood are definitely a factor in this, recent research also suggests that teenagers who are already struggling with their mental health are more at risk of becoming pregnant.1
So, that means teen moms are more likely to have pre-existing mental health difficulties and these can be made worse by becoming pregnant.1 Most teen moms will continue to experience psychological distress into adulthood, making mental health support for teen moms absolutely crucial.3
It’s important that perinatal support is taken seriously by everyone involved because teen moms are already navigating other adolescent issues on top of pregnancy and adapting to life as a parent.1
Trauma-informed care for pregnant teens is also essential because teen moms are at higher risk of developing PTSD as a result of being exposed to interpersonal violence and conflict in their communities.1 If your care is trauma-informed, it should allow you to feel more in control of the support you’re receiving. You’ll probably feel more comfortable with your appointments and care provider if they’re tailoring your care to your trauma.
Effective care, such as early intervention for perinatal depression, is crucial because it can result in better outcomes for you long-term. Perinatal support should also alleviate any concerns you might have about parenting, health, pregnancy, birth, and more.
Next, we’ll go into what you can expect to get from perinatal support.
What Is Perinatal Support for Teen Moms?
Perinatal support can involve a wide range of care during pregnancy (prenatal) and the first year after birth (postpartum). It includes all your medical care but also any psychological and emotional support you might need. In addition, perinatal care can involve practical support with parenting and academic concerns.
To give you a better idea of what’s involved, here’s a more detailed breakdown:
Perinatal Medical Care
This will include all your check-ups throughout pregnancy, preparation for your labor and delivery, and postpartum care like healing, breastfeeding, and contraception. You might also be given advice on diet and exercise if this is applicable to your or the baby’s health.
Perinatal Mental Health Care
This is when you receive support for your emotional and psychological health. Counseling and peer support groups can help a great deal with perinatal mental health for teens because lots of mothers will develop anxieties around pregnancy and motherhood. You might also want to receive specialist therapy if you have a pre-existing mental health condition or if you’ve experienced trauma. There are also crisis support services if you’ve experienced abuse or want to work through feelings around an unplanned pregnancy.
Practical Perinatal Support
This kind of support could include life skills training (e.g., parenting or budgeting) and also the provision of essential information about adoption, kinship care (when your child is looked after by a family member), your rights as a pregnant teenager at school, and any other practical matters.
What Is Perinatal Support for Teen Moms?
There is a wide variety of support out there for pregnant teens. Depending on what providers you go to, you’ll find different approaches and resources. It’s important you find support that’s specific to your personal situation; for example, you might be particularly worried about being pregnant and juggling academic pressures. Let’s explore some different options:
Teen Pregnancy Counseling
Counseling is one of the main ways you can get support for your mental health. Counselors and psychotherapists are trained to provide a relationship in which you can share difficult feelings, work through past experiences, redefine what’s important to you, discover your boundaries and preferences, and develop coping strategies for your future.
This might be a great option for you if you’re suffering from depression, anxiety, bipolar, trauma, family or relationship conflicts, or any sort of emotional distress. Counseling for teen mothers is pretty varied, which means there’ll definitely be a professional out there who has experience with your specific concerns.
If you want to seek out counseling, ask your primary care doctor or health insurer for recommendations. There might also be a community center nearby that offers low-cost or free therapy.
Trauma-Informed Care
Depending on what you’ve gone through, you might require care that is known as ‘trauma-informed’. This is when the therapy, counseling, or other type of support you receive is careful to take your trauma into consideration. This is necessary to avoid re-traumatization and ensure you are getting the most beneficial support.
You might need trauma-informed care if you’ve experienced any event or series of events that were physically or emotionally harmful or threatening. Trauma could be a chronic condition, neglect, or violence; but, really, any experience can be deemed traumatic if it’s had a lasting adverse effect on the way you function physically, emotionally, socially, or spiritually.4
You’ll know if a care provider is trauma-informed because they should state it when describing what they can offer you. You might also choose to bring an advocate with you or ask outright if their services follow a trauma-informed model.
Adolescent Pregnancy Resources
You might want to learn from certain resources over your perinatal period, whether it’s information about staying healthy during and after pregnancy, giving birth, staying on top of academic work, parenting, adoption, kinship care, or something else.
You’ll be able to find different resources from charities, high school completion programs, and even your doctor or pediatrician. You might like to research providers of pregnancy support before reaching out to ensure they’ll be non-judgmental and align with your personal beliefs.
Academic Support and Peer Support Groups
You might be worrying about how your school life will be impacted by your pregnancy, particularly if you have some important exams or deadlines coming up in the next year. Your school should provide support for you during this time and coordinate with social workers.
Many schools will have a program that helps teens who are pregnant and/or parenting to finish school. You might be interested in reading about your rights as a pregnant or parenting teen at school so that you know what support you can ask for.5
If you’re in Washington DC, Dallas, or New Orleans, you might be eligible for support from Generation Hope.6 This organization can provide academic mentoring, mental health support, funding, and training in parenting and financial literacy.
There are numerous organizations across America offering mentoring, both for academic concerns and young motherhood.
To name a few, you could access Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies in Palm Beach County, Embrace Grace all over the US, Happy Mama Healthy Baby Alliance in Los Angeles, or She Rises in Maryland. Teen Parent Connection, in Illinois, is a charity that can provide doulas, home visits, support groups, therapy services, and more.7-11
It’s a good idea to check your local area for an organization like these; there’s likely to be some sort of mentoring or peer support group on offer. We discuss peer support groups in more detail here.
Accessing the Right Support
Postpartum Support for Teens
Postpartum support takes place after you’ve given birth. This will be a significant period of time that’s full of changes to your physical and emotional health, as well as your lifestyle. Postpartum medical care will focus on your physical recovery, your baby’s health, and breastfeeding.
A nurse providing postpartum support might try to learn about you, the father of your child, and your home life. They might observe how you interact with your child to assess how you’re getting on and provide 1-on-1 practical guidance for handling an infant. They might also advise you on contraception.13
In addition, teen postpartum support might include a special focus on your mental health. This might involve screening you for postpartum depression or anxiety, enquiring about your experience of labor, and supporting you through any post-birth emotional issues like insomnia, mood swings, and stress.
Perinatal mental health for teens is crucial; so, don’t forget that you’re entitled to ask for help even after your pregnancy.
Find Out More About Perinatal Support for Teens
Mental health care for pregnant teens should provide long-lasting relief, equipping you with emotional resilience that extends beyond birth and early motherhood.
Our licensed professionals will work closely with you and your family to help you gain a deeper understanding of what’s contributing to your distress and ensure you come away with sustainable coping skills for the future.
Here at Mission Prep, we can offer you a comprehensive evaluation of your mental health, individual and family therapy, academic planning and support, life skills courses, transitional support, and care that is centered around your desired outcomes.
To learn about what we offer at Mission Prep, call us today.
References
- Hodgkinson, S., Beers, L., Southammakosane, C., & Lewin, A. (2024). Addressing the Mental Health Needs of Pregnant and Parenting Adolescents. Pediatrics, 133(1), 114–122. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2013-0927
- Mickler, A., & Tollestrup, J. (2025). Teen Birth Trends: In Brief. Congress.gov. https://www.congress.gov/crs-product/R45184
- Teen Pregnancy May Be Symptom, Not Cause, Of Emotional Distress. (2020). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/07/090727204829.htm
- National Library of Medicine. (2020). Trauma-Informed Care: A Sociocultural Perspective. Nih.gov; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (US). https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK207195/
- U.S. Department of Education. (n.d.). Know Your Rights: Pregnant or Parenting? Title IX Protects You From Discrimination At School. https://www.ed.gov/laws-and-policy/civil-rights-laws/sex-discrimination/know-your-rights-pregnant-or-parenting-title-ix-protects-you-from-discrimination-at-school
- Generation Hope. (n.d.). The Future Is Family. https://www.generationhope.org/
- Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies. (n.d.). Caps & Cribs: Teen Mom Mentoring Program. https://www.hmhbpbc.org/mentor
- EMBRACE Grace. (n.d.). Find a support group in your area. https://www.embracegrace.com/find-a-group
- Happy Mama Healthy Baby Alliance. (n.d.). Pregnant & Parenting Teen Program. https://motherbabysupport.net/projects-programs/teen-mother-mentor-program/
- She Rises. (n.d.). Our Programs. https://she-rises.org/programs-2/
- Teen Parent Connection. (n.d.). Welcome to Teen Parent Connection. https://teenparentconnection.org/
- USA Gov. (n.d.). How to apply for Medicaid and CHIP. https://www.usa.gov/medicaid-chip-insurance
- Fullar, S. A. (1986). Care of postpartum adolescents. MCN. The American Journal of Maternal Child Nursing, 11(6), 398–403. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3097445/
