Foster Care Training

Youth in foster care have a higher likelihood than the general population of experiencing pregnancy during adolescence. Providers working with pregnant foster youth should consider the needs of the teen as well as the needs of the infant. Pregnancy and the birth of a child are significant markers in the life of not only the developing baby, but the teen and resource family as well. The transition from the imagined child and the imagined parent to the actual baby and development of the parental identity are key components of the first few months after the child is born to the youth. Given the youth’s trauma history and placement in foster care, specific triggers around parenting while not having been parented might arise. This session provides an overview of the psychology of pregnancy reviewing key concepts around development, identity, and issues surrounding complicated pregnancies, prematurity and loss.