Dr. P S Ahalya

If your teenager finds out that she is pregnant, and will be having a baby soon, it is a very difficult situation to cope with. Teenage pregnancy is associated with intense stress and trauma in both the girl and her parents, and family. It is important for you to realise that teenage pregnancy can be okay, based on good and wise decisions. You should seek all options at hand, and discuss them with people you trust. There are several coping methods for dealing with the stress, trauma, and difficulty of teenage pregnancy. They are as follows:

Keep in mind that it is okay to be overwhelmed

1. A flood of emotions is likely to flow through your body on finding out that your teenage daughter is pregnant.
2. Your mind has to be set for facing several challenges which lie ahead. You have to go ahead.
3. It is okay to feel upset, but avoid showing it in front of your daughter.

Be supportive

1. You might be upset and angry, but you need to realise that your daughter is scared and alone.
2. She needs you by her side during this phase more than ever. Your child’s health has to remain relaxed both physically and mentally during pregnancy.
3. Do not make your daughter feel shameful as it will worsen the trauma. You need to make her understand that you are with her to figure out some kind of solution.

Ask your daughter what she wants

1. It is important for you to ask your pregnant teenage daughter about what she wants, and you should respect her wishes.
2. Your daughter has to be comfortable with the choices you make regarding the pregnancy.

Give her advice and help her in exploring options

1. Instead of forcing your opinions and views on your daughter, you need to lead her to beneficial resources and support centres.
2. It is important for your daughter to make the best decision, without a lot of influence over what has been decided.
3. Explore the available options with her and point out the various pros and cons.

Teach your daughter the skills required to become independent

1. While you have to help your teenage daughter emotionally, financially and in many other ways, you should also teach her the ways of becoming an independent self sufficient adult.
2. If she decides on having the baby, it is very important for her to learn to take care of the baby and deal with all the issues that are likely to be faced.

It is also recommended for you to take your pregnant teenage daughter for therapy and proper counselling. These are also important for her to cope with the trauma and make the best decisions.

In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!

Relationships are either delicate or strong, depending upon the bonding you share with your partner. The bonding depends on various factors. Some of the most essential ones being emotional attachment, friendliness, sense of ease, mental compatibility and a feeling of sustained emotional support from the relationship. This is applicable to all relationships; be it a relationship with your spouse, a parental relation with your children, a relationship with your friends, relatives, etc.

However, it is a common factor that every relationship requires a definite level of friendship, understanding and trust to sustain. However, sometimes you may find eventual signs of distance or detachment, which could be signals of potential violence in the relationship.

1. Sense of complete possession: This is a vital factor that intricately works behind initiating violence in relationships. Possessiveness is a form of extreme emotional condition. A sense of possessiveness lies in every relation. However, over possessiveness leads you to restrict your loved one to share his love with anyone else. It can even be severe when you may even dislike your loved one talking to anyone else. Therefore, it may lead to eventual abuse or violence in the relationship.
2. Distrust: Trust and belief are essential elements in any relation. If you tend to lose trust on someone, you can hardly be normal in the relationship. Disbelief results in doubt and continued doubt and resistance lead you to react violently. If you constantly disbelief a person, you are ought to react out of your general personality sometime.
3. Abuse: Use of abusive language may be a strong indication of emerging distance in a relation. A person indulges in using abusive language out of anger and frustration, both of which could be major signals of potential violence in the near future. Both abusive language and physical violence are considered as forms of violence. Therefore, initial signs of abuses should be considered immediately.
4. Dominance: In every relationship where two persons are involved, you will usually find any one of them to be dominant. However, that is acceptable until the dominance is within a certain limit. However, if it crosses the limits of patience and acceptability, it may sometimes result in violence.
5. Short temper Attitude: If any one of the involved persons in the relationship is short tempered, it will definitely be a lead reason of miscommunication or insufficient communication. Short tempered individuals are mostly characterised with low patience. If you do not have patience, you can never offer understanding. And above that, short-tempered attitude can be an additional disadvantage. These types of individuals fail to control their anxiety and can often be violent in relationships. In case you have a concern or query you can always consult an expert & get answers to your questions!