“‘Babies shouldn’t have babies!’ We were just 2 kids, living on minimum wage, trying to prove ourselves in a world which had already branded us failures.”

‘You’re going to be a dad.’ He towered over me and the world stopped. I was ‘that girl’ at 18.’: Teen mom beats odds, creates beautiful family, ‘They became my happily ever after’

‘You guys are no good.’ I fell pregnant at 15. The world was against us and things got worse.’: Teen mom shares beautiful relationship, ‘We are stronger together’
“I had to borrow medicine off the shelves when my son was sick because we couldn’t afford it. We were doing everything we could to get by. It never seemed like enough.”

‘I’m cutting ties with you, mom. This is not the life I want for my children. I’m setting myself free.’ I awoke to numerous texts and calls.’: Mother battling meth addiction 3 years sober after wake-up call goes viral
“At 16, I was pregnant with twins. ‘I promise to help you raise them.’ Days later, you ended up in jail. I cried for you as they prepped me for an emergency C-section. I desperately needed you there to hold my hand. You missed my graduation, the birth of my children. I spent years wondering how you could leave me. My love could never keep you sober. Then, I wrote my goodbye letter.”

‘I haven’t had enough time with her.’ It was a gut punch. I had to say goodbye to the child I carried.’: Teen mom reunites with daughter, ‘I never stopped loving her’
“I handed her to her mother. As we watched them drive away with her, pain rushed through me and tears flooded my face. I knew she would never be mine again. 16 years later, I had an email.”

‘The letter said, ‘I’m your daughter. Can you meet me?’ She’s the secret that ate away at me for 18 years.’: Birth mom reunites with daughter, shares healing journey
“This amazing human I had given birth to was a complete stranger.”

‘The nurse came in and said, ‘Her new parents are ready for her.’ Only 15, I kissed her soft baby cheek, and placed her into the arms of her mama.’: Teen mom embarks on ‘beautiful’ open adoption journey, ‘I couldn’t have picked better parents’
“I hid my pregnancy for 7 months. I should’ve been picking the perfect dress for Winter Ball. Instead, I was writing a birth plan. Once my sobs slowed, I looked at her birth father and said, ‘Those are the people who will raise our baby girl.’ I wavered. I fought. I broke. But in the end, I knew what I needed to do.”

‘I’ve told you I’m a virgin a million times!’ She slammed on the brakes. ‘We need to find an adoption agency.’: 16-year-old birth mom pursues open adoption, ‘He deserved better than me’
“They would take him home and raise him in all the ways I couldn’t. It all seemed to happen really quickly. This is when regret and doubt in my decision came crashing down on me. He is mine. He was mine for 40 hours.”

‘You have 24 hours to tell your parents you’re pregnant or I will.’ She pressured me. I was 17 and scared.’: Teen mom becomes widow at 18, ‘I lost my best friend, my high school sweetheart’
“She dialed my mom’s number on speaker. ‘Hi, Diane. This is the nurse at your daughter’s school. Katherine has something to tell you.’ Seriously lady? I got on the phone, played dumb. ‘Oh my gosh, Katherine! What is going on?’ My parents had NO idea I was sexually active. Little did I know, there were bigger problems to worry about. ‘If he was wearing his seatbelt, he would have survived.’ A funeral was planned without me or my daughter in attendance.”

‘I got pregnant. I can still hear my mom say, ‘Oh Jennifer!’ when I told her.’: Woman credits husband for ‘saving her life’ and finally receiving bipolar diagnoses
“What the people at church did to me was beyond what I even knew until MANY years later. I was a good kid. But I look at it differently now. I wasn’t bad; I had an illness.”

‘I stopped feeling the girls move. ‘We can’t find 3 of the heartbeats.’ I had to stay strong for my survivor.’: Teen mom births ‘warrior’ preemie quadruplet against all odds
“The doctor sat down and said, ‘I’m so sorry.’ Nurses flooded into the room. I was only 19. ‘I can’t lose my babies.'”