5.3% of the babies born in the United States are born to teen moms, Kentucky is slightly higher at 5.4% and Muhlenberg County, KY is slightly higher than the state average at 6%. Teen who become pregnant can be nutritionally at risk, because many do not have healthy eating habits and their diets are often high in fats, sugars, and calories, but low in nutritional value. 

Pathways of Hope, a local pregnancy center and the SNAP-Ed Nutrition Education Program Assistant worked together to present Healthy Choices for Every Body and Feeding Your Pregnant Body to expectant teens in Muhlenberg County. The goals of the program were to achieve healthy weight gain during pregnancy, increase consumption of fruits and vegetables each day, increase consumption of water and decrease the amount of sugary drinks, increase their physical activity, and increase knowledge of essential nutrients during pregnancy. These goals were taught through the Healthy Choices for Everybody curriculum. Teens attended four classes, two hours long as part of their school day. They were evaluated using the Kentucky Nutrition Education Program Reporting System Data Entry Forms at enrollment and at completion of the program.

100% of the teens showed improvement in one or more core areas. 60% of the groups increased their consumption of fruits and vegetables. 100% of participants made small changes to be active more often. 65% of participants improved in their Food Resource Management skills, and the largest increase was 75% of participants improved in their Food Safety practices.

Pregnancy represents the ideal time to teach Healthy Choices to young expectant mothers because they are more willing to make changes for a healthy baby. These classes tremendously helped these individuals to improve their choices for the babies, who were all carried to full term with healthy birth weights.