Teen Moms Anonymous
Teen Moms Anonymous is a podcast for teen moms and adult mothers who were teen moms, especially those who survived violence and abuse. Our focus is on promoting emotional health and wellness because we know that emotionally healthy mothers are better equipped to nurture the emotional development of their children.
Host--
The host is Dr. Chris Stroble, founder of Teen Moms Anonymous, a ministry for teen moms and adult mothers who were teen moms, especially those who survived violence and abuse, and the award-winning author of Helping Teen Moms Graduate: Strategies for Families, Schools, and Community Organizations.
To learn more about Teen Moms Anonymous, please visit www.teenmomsA.org
Teen Moms Anonymous
When Your Daughter Becomes a Mother: A Path Forward
When a teenage girl becomes a mother, her life transforms in ways she never anticipated—often amid judgment, shame, and overwhelming challenges. But what happens when this young mother carries unhealed trauma into her parenting journey? The impacts can ripple through generations.
Dr. Chris joins J'Michael with 107.3 JAMZ - Greenville, SC to share the powerful mission behind Teen Moms Anonymous, where we are creating sacred spaces where teen mothers and adult women who became mothers in their teens can find healing, support, and empowerment. With authentic vulnerability, Dr. Chris reveals how her difficult relationship with her own mother—a teen parent—became the catalyst for her life's work.
"Your greatest ministry will come out of your greatest pain," she shares, describing the moment she discovered how unresolved trauma from violence and abuse impacts a young mother's ability to form a secure attachment with her child. This understanding transformed her personal pain into purposeful action, creating resources that interrupt generational cycles of trauma.
The conversation offers practical wisdom for families navigating a teen pregnancy, with Dr. Chris outlining three essential steps: parents must first regulate their own emotions, then emotionally support their daughter, and finally develop a concrete plan utilizing available resources. From medical partnerships like Nurse Family Partnership to educational advocacy with school counselors, she outlines a comprehensive support system for young families.
What makes this interview particularly valuable is the balance of compassionate understanding with actionable guidance. Dr. Chris doesn't just acknowledge the emotional wounds teen mothers carry—she provides pathways to healing through our organization's weekly blogs, podcasts, and confidential support groups.
Whether you're a parent, educator, community leader, or someone who cares about supporting vulnerable families, this conversation offers profound insights into breaking cycles of trauma and building healthier futures for young mothers and their children.
Connect with Teen Moms Anonymous through our website teenmomsA.org and discover how emotional healing creates stronger families across generations.
Good morning. I'm J" Michael and I pray that your day is off to a great start, that you're blessed and having a great day, that you got your morning cup of coffee, or maybe you got your cup of tea, or maybe you're actually out and about doing your little jog, or maybe you're headed to the gym. Well, we have a great conversation for you today and I'm excited to introduce you to my guest. Some know her, some we're introducing you to her for the very first time, but do know that the work that she's doing, it benefits and enhances all of us.
Speaker 1:Dr. Christine M. Stroble. She spent the last seven years using her pen and purpose to make a space for teen moms and single mothers to feel seen and supported and empowered. Her award-winning work speaks to classrooms and communities and anyone committed to helping young families thrive. With helping teen moms graduate and love for Black single moms, Dr. Chris brings both strategy and heart to the table. Through Teen Moms Anonymous, she continues to lead with compassion, reminding every mother that she's more than enough. Dr Chris, how you doing this morning?
Speaker 2:I'm doing great, jay Michael, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:When I tell you I've been listening to your podcast, I've been on your blogs and looking at the work that you're doing and I tell you it is really, really piqued my interest. But I also know that you're touching so many lives with the work that you're doing. I just want to thank you in advance of the conversation.
Speaker 2:Thank you, I appreciate it, jay, jay Michael. So let me tell you a little about our organization, jay Michael. Teen Moms Anonymous.
Speaker 2:We are a ministry for teen mothers and adult mothers who were teen mothers, especially those who survived violence and abuse. I know from my research that many young mothers are emotionally wounded, and even years after their teen pregnancy they're emotionally wounded, in large part because they have so much unresolved trauma from. They're mostly wounded, and so our mission at Teen Moms Anonymous is to provide them with resources and information to heal their emotional wounds and just provide them the support that they need. And so I'll just tell you quickly what we offer them. We offer a wealth of information on our weekly blog and our podcast on topics ranging from judgment and shame, which many of them feel how to heal that toxic shame. We have information on parenting relationships, healing emotional wounds, healing mother wounds. So all this content is free for them. It's available on our website, teammomsaidorg, on our social media, and each week I do I write a blog and record a podcast, providing them with great information.
Speaker 1:What I love about it it comes from the heart. You know, it's not just numbers and just ideas out of the sky. It really comes from the heart and I really appreciate you angling all of your efforts and all of your work in that direction. Because when you say Teen Moms Anonymous, that means you give moms, young moms, an opportunity to get this information without ever saying, hey, this is who I am and owning another layer of shame. Literally seven days a week, she could access your website or your podcast and hear it over and over again until she actually walk in what you're talking and what you're discussing, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Absolutely. The podcast is weekly and, like you just said, they can listen to it in the comfort of their home and their car. No one has to know. The blogs are there that they can read. On social media we provide our content and so we also in our support groups. J Michael, that's really a place where young mothers can find emotional and moral support from others who have walked their journey and I know from my research the book that I wrote many young mothers. They're frightened. I mean they're scared, they feel that they've disappointed their family, they've disappointed themselves. They're dealing with shame and judgment and embarrassment and they just need a lot of support. And that is definitely something I want to speak to today for parents who, if your daughter is pregnant or parenting, just what she needs from you, because she needs support and we're just one resource to offer her that support.
Speaker 1:Dr Chris, you got to take us back to the beginning. What stirred your heart to create Teen Moms Anonymous, and why is it so important to carve out this sacred space for the entire family?
Speaker 2:Well, I'll tell you it's personal Teen Moms Anonymous. This ministry is personal to me and Rick Warren has said that your greatest ministry, your greatest pain, will come out of your. Your greatest ministry, sorry, will come out of your greatest pain, and that has certainly been the case with me. My relationship with my mother has been very difficult. We did not have a loving mother-daughter relationship and that was painful. There was tension between us. Every interaction ended up in an argument and, as I said, it was emotionally just very, very painful, because every mother and daughter want to have a close relationship and we did not. And I struggled with that most of my adult life and I was in that emotional pain.
Speaker 2:And then one day something happened that was a turning point. I was teaching and I found a report on violence, abuse and teen pregnancy and for the first time I understood how, what my mother had experienced as a teen mother the violence and abuse that's so prevalent in their lives. I understood how that had impacted her ability to parent me or not parent me in the way that a mother should. And so, as I said, that was a turning point for me and I decided you know what? That is what it is between my mother and I. It's just unresolved trauma.
Speaker 2:She's emotionally wounded, I'm emotionally wounded. So I said I'm going to heal my own emotional wounds. That was over 20 years ago, J'Michael, and when I got to the point that I was further along my journey that I could help someone else, I created Teen Moms Anonymous to give women like my mother a safe space where they can heal their emotional wounds, where they can find emotional and moral support so that they then can have that close emotional relationship with their child. And so it's personal. That is why it's so dear to me. It comes from my deepest pain.
Speaker 1:You know what the compass for your work is absolutely rooted and you know what I've been there. Let me help someone else navigate through this. And I do believe that when a young mother has a child, it has implications across the board her mental health, the family dynamic changes and, of course, at the end of the day, the child is actually seeing and experiencing all that's going on and that trauma is actually prevalent in our communities today. So I believe that the work that you're doing answers a problem that actually is a solution to a problem that we would otherwise see 20 and 30 years from the birth.
Speaker 2:It's generational and even with teen pregnancy it's multi-generational. You know a young lady today who's a teen parent. Her mother might've been a teen parent. Her mother, her mother, might have been a teen parent. Her mother's mother might have been a teen parent. And so it's generational. And we want to interrupt those generational cycles, put an end to it, empower the young mother, give her knowledge and information to heal, so that she can then parent her child in a different way, that her daughter won't repeat the cycle of a teen pregnancy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, you know, dr Chris, you talk a lot about emotional wellness, especially for moms who've experienced trauma and violence. Why is that healing so essential, not just for them, but also for the next generation that they're giving birth to?
Speaker 2:Okay. So being a mother is a monumental task and children need to get certain messages from a mother. They need a mother to play certain roles in their life and Jasmine Lee Corey talks about that in her book the Emotionally Absent Mother. Well, if you have a mother who's still emotionally wounded, hasn't healed from her own trauma, she may be physically present for the child, she may provide food and shelter, but emotionally she is absent. And if she's absent emotionally there's not going to be a strong, secure attachment. And attachment, J'Michael, is so important between a child in your first relationship with your mother. And if that is secure and healthy, that sets the stage for the rest of your life in your relationship. If it's an insecure attachment, that sets the stage as well for you to have problems in relationship. So being a mother is a monumental task. You've got to heal your own emotional wounds. It's more than just you're working, putting food on the table, keeping a roof over their head. You have to attend to a child's emotional needs.
Speaker 1:That's good, you know, and sometimes, especially young mothers you're talking about those teenage years but they're still learning their identity, they're still learning who they are. They don't even know what life is, so they really do need someone to take them by the hand to say, okay, let me walk with you through this journey. And that's what Moms Anonymous does you know through your work with your podcast or your work on your blogs. And then what I absolutely love that you just spoke of is your group opportunities as well. Right, yes, absolutely Young mothers, especially in the Greenville-Spartanburg area.
Speaker 2:They can sign up for one of yes, absolutely Young mothers, especially in the Greenville, spartanburg area. They can sign up for one of our support groups. In there they will connect with five to eight other mothers. It's a very small, intimate environment. Again, they'll find emotional and moral support.
Speaker 2:We do not tell people what they should do. In our support groups, we listen with empathy and compassion and we offer emotional and moral support. What is shared in our group is very confidential. That's our number one rule is confidentiality, because in order for someone to be vulnerable and transparent, they have to feel safe, and we provide that safe space. I will tell you, j Michael. I've had a number of agencies from different states contact me about online support group classes, but we don't have the infrastructure to ensure the safety of our members and we're dealing with young mothers, so we can't offer that. When we do have that capability, we will offer online support groups and I just encourage those who benefit from our information to stay connected to us so they'll know our updates. You know, subscribe to our blog and podcast, follow us on social media so they can get those updates.
Speaker 1:I'm just grateful that the message you know it's permeating through the Greenville Spartanburg area and that there is a safe space, a safe place, because I believe that it answers so many problems Now. This ministry is built on values like compassion and growth. My question to you is this for families, mothers, fathers, brothers, sisters, uncles, cousins, friends, who their expectations may have been dashed when this young lady may have gotten pregnant, and so now we have an environment where it could be hostile, it could be filled with strife, it could be a lot of different attitudes or thoughts or opinions that the family is working through. Is there something on your website, if there's something in the podcast, that helps them understand the emotional well-being and how they could lead into the need of this young lady that they're actually helping or needing to help and needing to give heart to at the same time?
Speaker 2:Yes, we have a couple of blogs that speak to resources that are available for young mothers and also the book my award winning book Helping Teen Moms, graduate, speaks to it. It's for family, schools and community organizations to know how to help their student who is pregnant and parenting. And these books are available at your local library. You don't have to purchase it, you can just check it out and if your library doesn't have it, you can ask them to purchase a copy. They will, and that book gives a wealth of information. But, j Michael, I do want to just give three steps to families who, if your daughter is pregnant, parenting, she's facing a pregnancy. Here's my advice to you. Number one for parents, because you're right, there's going to be some tension in the household. People may be frustrated, disappointed, they may be dealing with embarrassment and shame and guilt. So here's what I would say, three things. Number one as the parent or guardian, you have to calm yourself down first. We call that self-regulate. You got to get your emotions in order. Feel what you feel. If you're disappointed, you're angry, you're hurt. Okay, feel all of that for two minutes, but what you got to realize, so that you can move on, is that God does not make mistakes. I know there's abuse, I know there's violence. He hates that. I know there are illnesses, but God does not make mistakes. And so you really have to sit in that and know that. Know, this situation wasn't what you planned, but God doesn't make mistakes. And then, after you have regulated yourself, you then have to co-regulate your daughter. You have to her know. You know what it's going to be. Okay, we're going to get through this. We're going to work through this together. I am here to support you. I got you, I got your back. You don't have to worry. We're going to get through this together. And then, after you have regulated yourself, you've regulated your daughter.
Speaker 2:The third step is we got to get a game plan. Okay, how are we going to move forward from here? And number one I say immediately get in to see an OBGYN. She needs to be taking prenatal vitamins, having regular checkup and visits with the doctor. Talk to the doctor about anxiety and depression, because it's very high among teen mothers. So talk to the doctor about that. They may recommend that she sees a therapist, which I will say J Michael. I am a single mother. My therapy was very difficult and I saw a therapist every week while I was pregnant and I think that's really a great resource for a young mother. But again, talk to the OBGYN about that.
Speaker 2:The next thing I would say is meet with the school counselor. Let's get a game plan. Okay, your daughter's finishing her sophomore year. She has two more years to go. You need 24 credit hours to get a high school diploma. How many credits does she have? How many does she need? Let's schedule. What is she taking this semester to ensure she graduates on time? You might want to ask about online classes and then from there, after you make contact with the OBGYN, talk to the school.
Speaker 2:There are a plethora of resources and some of them are listed on our website. But you got to tap into and get connected with all the resources that are out there to help you Teen parenting programs, teen parenting classes your school, your district, may offer them. If not, they're community-based teen parenting programs. Do that, because what you're going to find is support from other young mothers. Also, that's what you find in our support group is support from other mothers.
Speaker 2:There are other resources, j Michael. One is called the Nurse Family Partnership. It's a national program. A young mother who's carrying can have her own personal nurse who comes to the house weekly to walk her through the process. So parents definitely need to reach out to nurse family partnerships. There are medical professionals like a doula. You can have a doula to walk you through the process. And if you're in the Greenville-Squartburg area, prisma Health has a black doula program because of the mental health of black women who are giving birth. Reach out to Prisma Health about that. You may qualify to have a doula walk you through the whole pregnancy and that's going to be helpful because, as a first-time parent, it's frightening.
Speaker 2:I was in my 30s as a first-time parent. It's frightening. I was in my 30s as a first-time parent. It was frightening. Imagine someone 15 or 16. It's frightening and, as you've said already, she's a young woman, she's a teenager, she's frightened. She needs the support. So I would do that.
Speaker 2:And then there are programs with DSS, WIC: Women, Infants and Children resources that you can get. Take advantage of that. TANF, if you qualify for that, take advantage of those resources. I would say go ahead and apply for child care scholarships with DSS so that we can prepare. Okay, once you've been on homebound, okay, make sure you stay up with your schoolwork on homebound when you get ready to go back to school, you have child care for your child so that you can finish. And then us sign up with our support groups, follow us, subscribe to our blog, our podcast. I promise you we're going to give you information that is going to help you make it through your pregnancy, feel better about yourself and just understand what's happening to your body. And then, of course, there are books, like the one I mentioned, but that's the advice I would give parents who are facing a teen pregnancy with their daughter.
Speaker 1:Dr Chris, first of all let me tell you this If anybody was in doubt or wondering or shame or just kind of overwhelmed, you just now was the light at the end of the tunnel. That was a number of resources that will actually help parents and their parents see that there is help, there's assistance, you're not in this thing by yourself, that the community is there to support you and you don't have to do life alone.
Speaker 2:Right, you do not have to do life alone. Their support, their resources, just tap into them and again again.
Speaker 1:Now I'm I'm glad that you said that, because you know what. If there are parents, if there is a mother that have experienced and and understand what it is that you're talking about in the work that you're doing and wish that they had those resources, and they say you know what? I want to extend the life of the work that you're doing. I want to be a part of it. I want to make sure that you're part of my philanthropy for the year. How could they jump in to be a support to the work that you're doing?
Speaker 2:Well, we definitely need support and we will. We are grateful for any support that individuals offer, and what they can do, j Michael, is go out to our, go to our website, teammomsA. teammoms8.org, fill out the contact information who they are, how they want to partner with us or whatnot and then we'll get back in touch with them within 24 to 48 hours. They can also send us an email at info at teammomsA. org. Again, they can email us at info at teammomsA. org. They can give us a call on our number, 864-906-4877. Again, 864-906-4877. And reach out to us that way and we can get together and see how we can partner and work together.
Speaker 1:And for the moms that are listening, for the parents that are listening, for the prospective mother that's getting ready to give birth to their child. How do they run upon this podcast? How do they find your blog? How do they find the website? How do they access the support groups as well?
Speaker 2:Okay, so the blog is available on multiple directories. You can listen to the blog on Spotify, on Apple Podcasts, on Google Podcasts, so it's available on multiple directories For our blog. If you go to our website, teammomsaorg, and subscribe to our blog, then every week when a blog is posted, you'll receive notification of that. You can connect with us via social media Instagram and Facebook at Team Moms Anonymous and just stay connected to our website. There will be tons of information there. And again, if you're in the Greenville-Spartanburg area, you can call to sign up for one of our support groups. For those who are 18 and under, parental consent is required for them to participate in our support group.
Speaker 1:You know what I do want to say this in no way shape form or fashion. I know your heart, Dr. Chris, so I think I can speak on your behalf. We're not encouraging teen pregnancy. However, we are the answer when it happens. This is the solution right.
Speaker 2:Absolutely, absolutely. This is the solution right. Absolutely, absolutely. Because when a young woman becomes a mother, that's a lot to handle, a lot to manage. So we want to prevent that teen pregnancy if possible. But once it happens, there has to be intervention. The young mother has to be supported because she's training the next generation, a child, so she has to be supported because she's training another, the next generation, a child, so she has to have support. But you speak to it very well, J'Michael. We're not encouraging teen pregnancy. We want to prevent that. But we also have to provide intervention for the young mother once she's parenting.
Speaker 1:Dr Chris, do one more thing for me Give me that website and all that good stuff so that we can follow you, so that we could make sure that we save that bookmark, so that we don't lose course of all that you've given today.
Speaker 2:Great. So our website is teenmomsA. org. The A stands for anonymous, it's abbreviated. So teenmomsA. org, you can visit our website. So, teenmomsA. org, you can visit our website. Subscribe to our blog and our podcast on many different directories Spotify, apple Podcasts, google Podcasts. Subscribe to our blog. You can send us an email at info at teenmomsA. org. Info at teenmomsA. org, and you can reach out to us by phone at 864-906-4877. Again, 864-906-4877.
Speaker 1:Thank you, Dr. Chris, we appreciate you. Thank you so much for joining us for this wonderful conversation. We hope and pray that you receive something from it and join us next week for another edition.
