PROSOLI (Progressing in Solidarity), in collaboration with Fundación Tropicalia’s Soy niña, soy importante (SNSI), implemented “Baby, think about it well,” a socio-educational program to prevent teen pregnancy, with the participation of 63 girls from Miches. Taking into account that the Dominican Republic ranks fifth in pregnancies of girls and adolescents among the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean, and that according to the World Vision Baseline Study for children in 2019, 10.5% of the adolescents between 12 and 18 from Miches, are or have been pregnant, this initiative is especially pertinent to the context of vulnerability in which adolescents from Miches live.
With their participation in “Baby, think about it well,” which seeks to highlight the importance of being mothers at the wrong time, SNSI participants and graduates experienced the arduous and intense work of spending three days with the newborn baby simulators. They experienced firsthand what it would be like to have a child full-time and the responsibility of caring for it.
Our program participants tell us about their experience:
"It’s difficult to be a mom, I don't want to be a mom, it won't let me sleep like I want to"
"My baby is crying a lot, I've done everything for him and he won't stop, I'm already tired, no one has been able to sleep in my house, how can I turn it off?"
"I have an exam on Tuesday and I haven't been able to study or do anything, I haven't even been able to sleep"
The mothers of the participating girls played an important role in this program, since, during workshop given on prevention and details in the delivery of babies, they were informed that they could not help their daughters take care of them.
One of the mothers tells us what she lived with her daughter these days:
“It has been a unique experience, my daughter has not even been able to sleep, constantly changing the diaper and giving her the bottle. She ended up going to bed at 5:30 am for half an hour when the crying baby woke up again. This was a very good experience for all girls, so they think things better before doing them, and they will realize that they are still too young to take care of another child.”
This alliance also counted with the participation of the Educational District 12-04, who provided us with buses to deliver workshops at the schools; and the families to whom we deeply appreciate their commitment in teaching the importance of preventing and delaying adolescent pregnancy. At the end of the project, the girls returned their babies and participated in an awareness workshop led by PROSOLI, which discussed the consequences of becoming parents at an early age, the negative effects that a baby can suffer from not caring for it properly, and ultimately the importance of postponing adolescent sexual intercourse, conscious family planning, and prioritizing your life goals.
