“I was just a child and I was having to take care of my mother. Making sure she ate, making sure she didn’t drown in her bowl of soup, and making sure she didn’t fall asleep with a cigarette in her mouth and burn the house down. She was supposed to be taking care of me, not me taking care of her.”
‘Sis, we need to talk. The doctor called. You’re pregnant.’ I was only 14. I just wanted to be a kid.’: Teen mom beats all odds, now mom of 3
‘I was 15 and pregnant. No one ever asked my boyfriend any questions. No one ever gave him dirty looks at the store.’: Teen mom advocates for right to choose ‘with love, support, and help for ANY decision’
“Some say, ‘If you don’t want the baby you should just put ‘it’ up for adoption.’ As if putting ‘it’ up for adoption is the easy thing. As if pregnancy leaves no scars. As if once the child is born, she could move on as if nothing ever happened.”
‘At 15, I started numbing my grief with drugs and alcohol. Two years later, I was pregnant.’: Teen mom shares mental health, healing journey, ‘I did it against all odds’
“I apprehensively showed him the test, thinking surely he’d turn around and run the other way. Instead, he hugged me as my mascara ran down my face, telling me, ‘Everything will be okay.’ I knew he was going to change my life.”
‘You need to get rid of that baby.’ Not even married for a month, my husband stopped coming home.’: Teenager becomes single mom, advocate
“‘Hey mom, I know it’s late, but can I come home now?’ I’d been abandoned. What in the world was I going to do with a child? I was still a child!”
‘On the bus to school, I texted my boyfriend, ‘Is it possible I could be pregnant?’ Only 16, something inside me knew.’: Teen mom of 2 shares young motherhood journey
“After a dreadful ride home, I walked into the bathroom with my mom. 16-year-old me stood there, already knowing what the outcome of the pregnancy test would be. Two lines. My mom and I started crying. I fell to my knees. ‘What am I going to do? I was supposed to graduate. I was supposed to go to college.’ My mom looked down at me, ‘You will.'”
‘The morning AFTER walking the stage and receiving my diploma in active labor, I delivered a handsome baby boy.’: Teen mom shares son’s autism diagnosis
“Just a day out of high school, I’d become responsible for a whole new life. I was in complete control of our future… until I wasn’t. I put it on the back burner, thinking maybe he’ll ‘grow out of it.’”
‘Oh my God! There’s another one here!’ I thought she was just mocking me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.’: Single teen mom raises awareness about alopecia, ‘You are not alone’
“I went speechless. They were scared to tell anybody because people would make fun of them. Our imperfections don’t define us.”
‘It doesn’t LOOK like a seizure.’ There are only 35 people in the whole world with this.’: Mom of son with rare chromosome disorder claims ‘I will never stop advocating for you’
“‘It’s okay, Mommy’s here.’ Your eyes roll back as every muscle in your body tenses. The monitor starts beeping as your oxygen levels drop. You have 50 or more seizures in a day.”
‘She just doesn’t want to go to school.’ At 18, I became a single mom living with undiagnosed pain.’: Chronic illness warrior becomes advocate with son’s help, ‘I couldn’t live without him’
“I had 9 months symptom-free. ‘I wish I didn’t have to give you this diagnosis.’ I felt like my life was ending.”
‘The eyes staring back at me were MINE. ‘I can’t believe I actually found you!’: Birth mom finds son on Facebook after 33 years
“‘This is like a DREAM. There are a million things I want to say, and at the same time, I can’t find the words. Just know I love you.’”
