Women Support Programs in Cartagena, Colombia

For families with a good economic situation, an unexpected pregnancy doesn’t change transcendentally their life; the child will continue to study, the babysitter will have some work to do and the parents will continue to work and support a family with baby on board. Unfortunately, this is not the fate of most pregnant teenagers in our country. Many of them have no other choice but to accept a possible family abuse, get married if they can or start to be exploited for cheap labour. Additionally, the psychological and social impact that the mom and the baby can suffer in such a difficult situation can be more than they can stand.

It is important to note that physically teenage mothers face more health risks than women who have their children after their twenties. Bleeding, anaemia, hypertension, abortion and premature birth are some of the risks that haunt adolescent mothers. For the baby the picture is not better. The children of very young mothers are at greater risk of being premature. For them, the risk of dying within five years old increases in a 28% compared to children of women between 20 and 29 years.

Therefore, in Cartagena, an institution has been created with the idea of attacking child mortality in the Colombian Caribbean coast, which had the highest rates across the country. This foundation has done a successful job in the city of Cartagena, providing maternity rooms and building a social complex that daily receives hundreds of children and teen moms. The foundation serves over 28,000 patients a year, and also offers a Child Development Centre. This institution was ranked as the first social work in Colombia with an ecological building with the LEED certification.

We need volunteers that can work in the medical centre they have, nurses or volunteers with experience taking care of pregnant women and teen mother’s monitoring (including helping them with the care of their babies).