health problems of welfare moms

Amanda refused to have an abortion when she fell pregnant at the age of 16, and opted instead to become a welfare mom – trapped in a never ending cycle of poverty and casual jobs, giving all of her energy to raising her daughter.

"I've developed a lot of problems with my teeth and gums since having my baby," sighs Amanda, "and because I can't afford proper dental care I'll probably lose all of my teeth by the time I'm thirty.”

“It's nothing to do with hygiene - I'm fussy about brushing - and it's nothing to do with diet, either, because I don't eat junk,” says Amanda. “It's just constant stress and worries about work and debt that's robbing my body of the nutrients it needs."

“Even if I could afford to visit oral professionals I doubt whether it would help me,” explains Amanda. “You can’t buy a stress-free life, can you?”

“It’s dealing with stress that’s my main problem,” explains Amanda. “If I had a regular job with decent pay, and had no debts, I would be so much happier and healthier and would be able to raise my daughter in a nicer place than the one we have now.”

“More than anything else I need to be a strong healthy mom for my daughter,” says Amanda, “and I just wish the community could do more to make life for single moms less stressful – fast tracking us into regular jobs would be good, but with so many other people out of work these days, I guess we don’t count.”

Read more about Amanda’s story:

bleak future on welfare

a wasted education?

burdens and blessings

a child raising a child

I didn't know I was pregnant!

Cancerians, motherly types?

abortion or welfare?