A mother of a 15-year-old female expresses concerns that her daughter may be sexually active because she's had a steady boyfriend for over a year. The family is Catholic and the mother had an abortion at 16. What should the nurse practitioner do initially?

• A. Explore the mother's feelings about her own past experience
• B. Offer to prescribe contraception to prevent pregnancy
• C. Recommend that the mother discuss this with her daughter
• D. Suggest that the mother talk to a priest about her daughter

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is to recognize that a clinician must first understand the parent's own feelings and beliefs before addressing the adolescent’s sexual health. Exploring the mother’s past experience with abortion helps reveal how it might color her current concerns, worries, or guilt, and any religious or cultural values influencing her expectations for her daughter. By inviting the mother to share these emotions in a nonjudgmental way, the nurse practitioner builds trust, helps the parent feel heard, and identifies biases or fears that could interfere with constructive conversation with the daughter. This sets a foundation for guiding the family toward open communication, respect for the teen’s autonomy, and appropriate health guidance about sexuality and safe practices.

Directly offering contraception skips addressing the parent’s emotional stance and could create resistance or conflict within the family. Encouraging a discussion with the daughter is important, but it is more effective after the mother’s concerns are acknowledged and explored. Suggesting talking to a priest might be helpful personally, but it does not address the immediate clinical goal of supporting healthy family communication and the adolescent’s health needs.