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Peer Assistants Share Experiences with Fellow Teen Parents

April 10, 2007, ST. LOUIS – For soon-to-be teen parents, a little guidance from peers who know what it''s like can go a long way. At the Teen Pregnancy Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital, a program called the Peer Assistants Project helps patients during their clinic visits.

The Peer Assistants Project trains parenting teens, called peer assistants, to serve as role models for patients at the Teen Pregnancy Center. Peer assistants accompany patients during clinic visits, including attending group sessions to share their pregnancy and parenting experiences. Peer assistants also contact patients to remind them about upcoming appointments and to conduct program evaluations such as follow-up surveys and focus groups.

The goal of the program is to promote healthy prenatal care behaviors by providing accurate pregnancy and parenting information to patients, ultimately increasing their likelihood to sustain and improve their healthy decision making, parenting and life skills. The Peer Assistants Project is funded by a grant from the March of Dimes of St. Louis as part of the organization''s multi-year campaign to reduce the number of premature births. Nearly one of every five babies born in the city of St. Louis is born too soon.

"Our peer assistants know what it''s like to be pregnant, go into labor and become a parenting teen," says Lorien Carter, women''s health education and grants coordinator for the Teen Pregnancy Center. "So one story from a peer assistant is worth 10 times more than any of our staff could ever say."

The Teen Pregnancy Center recently selected its peer assistants for the year: Mary Beth McGee, Tra''Na Agnew and Cesily Sanders. They began their year of service in March.

"Being a peer assistant lets me set a good example as a teen mother," says McGee, 18, who has a one-year-old daughter. "I''d like to let our patients know that they can do it and their life is not over as a teen mom."