COUNTYWIDE : Mothers Sought for Teen Mentor Plan

In a novel program aimed at ensuring healthy babies, the Orange County Health Care Agency is looking for women--preferably mothers--to serve as mentors for pregnant teen-agers.

The mothers’ role will be to provide support and friendship to the young women, said Cindi Tapia, coordinator of the new program. But more important, Tapia said, the mentors will work with bilingual counselors in a related program called UPP BEAT (Understanding Pregnancy and Parenting Better Efforts to Assist Teens) that encourages young mothers to get prenatal care.

According to studies by the March of Dimes, babies born to teen-agers are more likely to be born prematurely. Also, the March of Dimes has said, typically half of all pregnant teens receive no early prenatal care and are three times as likely as older mothers to receive late or no prenatal care.

But county officials hope the new mentor program will help pregnant teens beat the odds. Their guidance could “really make a difference in the life of a teen facing the challenge of motherhood,” Tapia said.

The program is beginning with $12,987 from the March of Dimes’ Orange County chapter. That group, which works against birth defects, has pioneered mentor projects nationwide, including one in Houston, said the local chapter’s executive director, Dottie Andrews.

Teen births in Orange County in the last five years appear to be on the rise, statistics show. And according to a recent study of birth certificates, many of these young mothers come from Santa Ana, Anaheim and Fullerton, Andrews said.

In 1988, 3,589 Orange County women under the age of 20 had babies--49 of them under the age of 15, according to the most recent figures available from the county Health Care Agency. By contrast, in 1983, 3,084 women under 20 had babies, with 35 of those under the age of 15.

In the new mentor program, Tapia said, teens and their advisers will be asked to attend three workshops: one on fetal growth, labor and delivery; one on the effects of drugs and alcohol on a developing baby, and one on the importance of nutrition and personal care during pregnancy.

In addition, the teen-agers will be given a $10 gift certificate for each prenatal appointment they keep. The certificates can be used for simple needs such as vitamins and layette items, which are often unaffordable for them. Most of the young women in the program come from low-income families, Tapia said.

Women interested in volunteering as mentors are asked to call Nancy Berg, volunteer coordinator at the Health Care Agency Volunteer Services, at 568-4422.