title: Making dreams, not babies: the power of hope in a teen family planning clinic.
abstract: Teenage pregnancy is a significant social issue in the United States, resulting in increased levels of poverty. Most public health family planning efforts have traditionally focused on teaching teens the how-to of contraception, with little focus on teaching the why-to. During my time as a nurse practitioner in a public health department family planning clinic, I developed a method to open discussions with patients about the possibilities of a future that includes delayed childbearing. My experience with this strategy taught me that hope may indeed be the most powerful contraceptive of all.
authors.affiliation: Auburn University School of Nursing, Auburn, Alabama, USA. rainekh@auburn.edu
authors.forename: Kimberly
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Raines
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000407:Alabama; D001294:Attitude to Health; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005193:Family Planning Services / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration; D005260:Female; D005544:Forecasting; D006040:Goals; D006240:Happiness; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D009013:Morale; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000458:organization & administration / Q000523:psychology; D009730:Nursing Assessment; D011203:Poverty / Q000523:psychology; D011209:Power, Psychological; D011247:Pregnancy; D011253:Pregnancy in Adolescence / Q000517:prevention & control* / Q000523:psychology / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D014481:United States