FAMILY AND COMMUNITY SUPPORT OF URBAN PREGNANT STUDENTS - SUPPORT PERSON, FUNCTION, AND PARITY

Family and community support resources available to 200 primiparous an d 44 multiparous pregnant students were examined. All pregnant student s included in the study were unmarried, African American, and enrolled in urban public high schools of a large midwestern city from 1986 to 1989. Results showed that (a) support persons in the family system wer e mentioned more frequently than those in the community system in all support functions and by all pregnant students; (b) at least two third s of all available support involved the baby's father and the student' s mother, but their support functions differed; and (c) parity tended to be related to the interplay between the support person and the supp ort function. Health professionals must identify appropriate support p ersons for the pregnant student and include them in the care process.