Parenthood is the option the option that is considered "better" in the eyes of religious people and those who are anti-abortion. I expereinced first hand being a teenage mother and not being able to do the things that I wanted to do. At sixteen years old, I became pregnant and gave birth to a healthy baby boy. I was only a sophmore in high school and I was living with my parents. Being a pregnant teen was hard choice. You had to contend with all the stares and dirty looks out in public. I also went to a Baptist church where sex before marriage was considered a sin(as it is in many religions). I got the worst stares form those people in church and I totally embarrased my mother. My son's father totally bailed out on me.
He left me the day he found out I was pregnant. I had the worst case of nausea for the first six weeks. I couldn't keep any food down. I threw up in the mornings before I went to school. My feet hurt as the pregnancy progressed and I had to continue to buy clothes that stretched to fit because I wasn't going to wear maternity clothes. As the pregnancy progressed and the baby got bigger I got stretch marks and my belly itched constantly. I couldn't work anymore because I was too big and it was dead in the middle of summer and it was one of the hottest summer that I could remember.
I missed out on parties,dating and hangin out with my friends. I still continued school even though it was hard for me to walk up and down the stairs. As my due date approached I began to worry about money and where would my baby would sleep,clothes for the baby,etc. I hadn't thought about these things that day when I was having unprotected sex. I had my son almost 3 weeks early and went through a very short labor.
We stayed in the hospital for about a day then we were discharged. Luckily, for me I had enrolled my son in the daycare that was in my school. My city had implemented a program for teen mothers who had children who wanted to continue school but needed childcare. That was a total blessing!
I got on public assistance for the daycare program and worked afternoons at a local grocery store as a cashier. I had programs like W.I.C. and this and that to help out with formula and baby cereal.People always felt pity on me because I was just another teenage mother,like my mother,just another statistic. I eventually graduated from high school because of hardwark and some motivation. I always didn't have family and friends to back me up emotionally or financially. That was the hard part. The other hard part was my son didn't have a father who was there with him everyday.I realize through all my struggles that if I had not been as strong as I am I wouldn't have made it and succeded this far.
Young ladies, don't ever let yourself just be another statistic! Society protrays being a single,teenage mother as beautiful and cute. NO! Babies aren't play toys they deserve love and two parents who can provide for them both emotionally and most of all financially. Answer this question before you ever have unprotected sex. Do I want to ruin my life and end up poor without ever achieving my dreams? If not get on birth control andor use condoms.