ethnic mother with baby with notebook near laptop at table
Photo by William Fortunato on Pexels.com

Seventeen-year-old Yarezi Alvarado wakes up early to get her backpack ready for school — but she also has to prepare bottles for her one-year-old daughter, Kamila, who rides on the school bus with her.

"When I wake up I have to get her Pampers ready, her wipes, her milk... And mostly clothes. Because, I mean, she gets dirty," said the Brownsville, Texas teen.

The bus has safety seats for infants, who ride with their young mothers to Lincoln Park High School in a low-income Hispanic neighborhood just miles from the border with Mexico.

The school takes girls and women aged 14 to 22 who are pregnant or have recently given birth. While they attend classes, a childcare centre in the same school watches the little ones. Mothers can go there to nurse their babies whenever necessary.


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