Cantu does the testing for the entire school. Some girls make an enormous effort to finish all the tests before their babies are born, Cantu said. Red roses bloom against a white wall of the building that houses Lincoln s parenting classes. In the past, the classes have included some teen fathers, although now only girls are enrolled. The mothers learn about nutrition, how to care for their own health and their baby s and what to expect of children of different ages.
Sex education covers abstinence, contraception, responsibility and the right to say no.
In a prenatal class, a nurse uses flip charts and models to teach about the female body and how it changes with each trimester of pregnancy. The girls see a video about a birth. A doctor shows them how to do things like take a baby s temperature. Both Delia and Yaneth find a lot to like about the school, starting with the fact that they feel safe there. Before I was here, I had a lot of problems.