umbilical cords

She's 20 years old, 5 months pregnant with her 2nd child and she has no idea what an umbilical cord is for...

As Jenna and I sit on the pavement next the drug apartments, I show her pictures of what her unborn baby looks like at 5 months. It's with excitement that I show her pictures of how her baby's eyebrows and eyelids have already formed. I tell her that her baby is now 5 inches long and about 5 ounces. She can not help but smile.

I have been working with Jenna for over a year and a half. A pr*stitute and Tik (crystal meth) addict, she has already had her first child taken from her because she would beg with him on the street, rain or shine, for spare change for her drug habit. Unfortunately, she never heeded my pleas to get the contraceptive injection. The father of the baby is in prison for theft. Mom continues to drug and walk the streets at night.
Jenna dropped out of school in the 8th grade. She was never shown these pictures, she never had a sex-ed class. It is on the street, 10 feet from the gamblers, that I explain what sex really is. Yes, she is proud of the fact she can "operate with the men", but she has no idea about the scientific/biological side of sex. So how would she know what an umbilical cord is? I explain in the simplest of words that "whatever Jenna eats, baby eats. Whatever Jenna smokes, baby smokes. Whatever Jenna drinks, baby drinks". I can tell she is embarrassed, she puts her jacket hood over her head and stares at her feet. We both smell the Tik chemical seeping out from her pores. I continue to encourage her to get registered at the local clinic for anti-natal check ups and the baby's birth. She is overwhelmed, she doesn't know where to begin the process. She asks me to help her book her first appointment and go with her. She is nervous, all of the nurses know who she is. They will scold her because at 5 months, this will be her first appointment. She is also nervous for the mandatory AIDS test. Right there on the street, I phone the clinic and book her an appointment. I'm also nervous, I'm nervous Jenna's addiction will continue to rule her weekend and monday morning she will not pitch for her appointment. Jenna goes on to tell me how she wants to be a proper mom for this baby. She feels it's going to be a girl. We dream about what this little "girl" will be doing in 1 yr, 5 yrs, 20 yrs. I tell her the first step to being a good mom is to make sure baby is healthy. 2 ways Jenna could make sure baby was healthy is by not using Tik and marijuana and going to the doctor appointment to get babies vitals checked.
Unfortunately, Jenna never went to her doctor appointment and I have not seen her since...