Coming to Grips as a Teen Parent in Rhode Island

Sara Fernandes was in the high school bathroom when her life was upended.

“I kind of felt like my whole life just flashed in my face because I was like, ‘Wow, everything’s about to change,’” Fernandes said.

Fernandes recalls not getting her period and taking a pregnancy test at school. The two dark lines confirmed what she suspected: she was pregnant at the age of 15. She said there was soon a swarm of classmates in the bathroom.

“They were like, ‘Oh my God, Sara’s pregnant. Sara’s pregnant,’” she said.

Fernandes, now 17, said she quickly noticed that her classmates began treating her differently. “Most of it was people being rude to me,” she said. “They were saying that I was a slut and a whore and all that stuff. That wasn’t true.”

Fernandes and her boyfriend, Caleb Faria, have been together for three years. They live in Pawtucket. After finding out they were expecting, the couple transferred to Nowell Academy, a charter school in downtown Providence that serves pregnant, parenting and underserved youth.

“At my other school, nobody was pregnant and nobody had kids and it was just weird. But here it kind of felt like I belonged,” Fernandes said.

Nationwide, fewer teenagers are having sex and those who do are more likely to use contraception.

“Especially in the last 10 years, we’ve seen significant declines in the rates of teen pregnancy,” said Sounivone Phanthavong, who manages the Rhode Island Department of Health’s adolescent school and reproductive health program.

In 2012, about 30 of every 1,000 pregnancies in Rhode Island were to a teen between 15 and 19 years old. That number dropped to 12 of every 1,000 pregnancies in 2021.

“I think it’s improved access to care, improved education, and more information about sexual and reproductive health,” Phanthavong said, explaining why the rate of teen pregnancies has gone down.

While the number of teens giving birth has declined, the cities facing among the highest poverty rates in the state are also grappling with the highest rates of teen pregnancy. The number of teens having babies in Central Falls, Pawtucket, Providence and Woonsocket combined is more than three times higher than the rest of the state.

“Teen pregnancy is no different than other health outcomes that are impacted by social and environmental conditions that influence those experiences that might be impacted by access to healthcare,” Phanthavong said. “It may be impacted by their access to employment and socioeconomic status.”

Adaysa Rodriguez said she is proof of that. The mother of five had her first child at 16.

Before she became a mother, Rodriguez said she already felt like one. She helped her single mom take care of her two younger siblings.

“It was overwhelming. I felt like it was a lot for me, but I just wanted to help my mom and make sure she was OK. I would even cook for her,” she said.

When she found out she was pregnant, Rodriguez said she was scared and felt like the world had been dropped on her.

“I didn’t tell my mom until I was five months pregnant,” she said. “I hid it very well. I had a small belly.”

Rodriguez was living in Central Falls when she gave birth to her daughter, Anieli, who was premature. She ended up being homeschooled for a few months but still graduated from high school.

“When they called my name, I wanted to scream: ‘I did it. I did it,’” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said it was a special moment to have her daughter and mother in the audience, especially because her mom was a high school dropout.

Rodriguez’s mother gave birth to her when she was a teenager. Faria’s parents were also teenagers when they had his brother.

“I was never given ‘the talk’ or anything, but when I told my parents that we were pregnant, my dad was like, ‘and I was about to talk to you guys about that too,’” he said.

Fernandes and Faria, now 18, said they were not using protection. According to data from the Rhode Island Department of Health, “among sexually active high school students, 10% used no method to prevent pregnancy during their last sexual intercourse with an opposite sex partner.”

Susanna Magee is a clinical professor of family medicine at Brown University. She said finances prevent more teens from using contraception.

“Kids have to have money in order to have contraception unless they have access to a Title X health care site where they can get that for free,” Magee said. “Or some offices, private offices will offer condoms for free.”

Medical students at Brown University are trying to reduce the teen pregnancy rate in Central Falls. They teach sex education to students at Calcutt Middle School. The program, Sex Ed by Brown Med, began in 2014. Magee is the program’s faculty adviser.

When asked what sex education students were receiving before the program started, Magee said, “At the time, it was really just the physical education teacher teaching sex ed … and it was very much about anatomy, very little about actual sex or STI prevention or those sorts of things.”

Talking about sex can be awkward, but Miranda Lassar, a medical student, said many students warm up to the conversations.

“They really reflect the energy in the room,” Lassar said. “And so when the energy in the room is that we’re just talking about this, you can ask me whatever you want, and I will answer your question with zero judgment, then I think the awkwardness is removed.”

Parents of seventh grade students choose whether they want their children to take the class -– most do. The eight lessons cover a range of topics.

“We talk about anatomy, reproductive anatomy,” Lassar said. “We talk about puberty. We talk about the menstrual cycle.”

Students are also taught about pregnancy, sexually transmitted diseases and contraception.

“There’s probably people out there who worry that giving information means the behavior will increase. And there’s a lot of information about the fact that that’s not true,” Magee said. “Harm reduction information does not increase a harmful behavior.”

The teen pregnancy rate in Central Falls has dropped significantly in recent years, but Magee said it is difficult to attribute that to the program.

“At the same time that Sex Ed by Brown Med was happening in Central Falls, there was also a clinic that had started at the high school that was a Title X site, Magee said. “So there was contraception available. There was some education happening from the physician who worked there. So that was obviously had to have been impactful as well.”

There is still a Title-X-funded health clinic at the high school. Phanthavong said it’s one of the ways the state is working to reduce pregnancy among teenagers.

“We fund Title-X family planning service sites that offer high quality, affordable, confidential, if needed, reproductive healthcare services,” Phanthavong said. “We also make sure we are implementing evidence-based programming in different settings that serve young people that may be in schools, in communities and afterschool programs.”

At Calcutt Middle School, students also learn about healthy relationships and consent. They are asked to write anonymous questions on Post-it notes for the medical students to answer.

Rodriguez said it is important students learn about abuse and consent. For her, it’s personal.

“When I was 14 years old, I was raped by a close friend of mine,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said it changed how she viewed herself. Several years later, she was in an abusive relationship with someone else. She hopes other teens in a similar situation will get help.

“Don’t think just because you’re in love with a person, it’s OK for them to physically, emotionally, or mentally abuse you,” she said. “I feel like everybody has a voice and everybody could speak.”

Rodriguez’s life revolves around her family. She also works as a medical assistant. The days are long, but she said her education has been key.

When asked what advice she has for other teen mothers, Rodriguez said, “Don’t drop out of high school. Get a career because without a career nowadays, you are not going to move forward. If you have a support system, use that support system.”

Fernandes and Faria rely on their support system. They said they have been able to stay in school because of the help they receive from their parents.

“I couldn’t imagine being able to come to school and go to work without both of our families,” Faria said. “Like, ‘Oh, if you need help, let me know. We’ll watch her.’ And even our parents are like, ‘Oh, you can’t afford formula, so I’ll buy it this week. And you just get it next week.’”

They said having their daughter Skylar, who turns 1 in October, has changed their lives for the better. They both say they are more motivated to do well in school because they want to give their daughter a good life. Still, they would not advise other teens to follow their path.

“Don’t get pregnant,” Fernandes said. “Mostly because I don’t know if their family’s supportive … I feel like if they did get pregnant and they weren’t ready, it would be more harm to the baby.

“Not everybody matures that quickly after getting pregnant as a teenager,” she said.