“Weeks went by. No period. I knew something was wrong. My two best friends were home from college. I told them I was feeling off. We went to Walmart and got the cheapest test we could, went to the gas station and took it. Pregnant. ‘It’s cheap, it’s probably a false alarm,’ my friends tried to reassure me. We went back to the store to get the more expensive test. Positive again. I’d just turned 19. ‘Take me to Josh’s house,’ I said emotionless.”
‘Josh, I’m pregnant.’ I was 19. ‘I’m not ready. We’re too young,’ he said. I knew I was keeping the baby.’: Teen mom refuses abortion, adoption, ‘I KEPT MY BABY! I have no regrets’
‘Do you have something to tell us?’ I was 15, pregnant. I wasn’t allowed to hold her.’: Birth mom has unexpected reunion with daughter’s adoptive family in Disney World, ‘I couldn’t even blink my eyes. I was shocked.’
“Adoption was the choice that was made for me. There would be no other discussion. Everything was out of my control. I felt so hopeless. 12 years later I was browsing social media and saw a post from my daughter’s adoptive mom. They were going on a family vacation to ORLANDO, you know, the same place I was going. I just sat there, looking at my screen, couldn’t even blink my eyes. I was shocked. My heart was beating out of my chest. I hadn’t seen these faces since I was 16, leaving the hospital.”
‘I was 15, terrified. I got my first positive pregnancy test in my high school bathroom.’: Teen mom marries high school sweetheart, 4 kids later she ‘wouldn’t change a thing’
“It was a Friday night, the first football game of the year. I was a freshman. One of my friends talked me into going to the game and dance afterwards. Little did I know, that dance would change my life. I ran into my neighbor and his friend, Chad. We talked, laughed, had a great time. By the end of the night, I put my number in Chad’s phone. Months later, I was asking my friend to buy me a pregnancy test. I was 15.”
‘I felt trapped. I got pregnant at 17. She gently rubbed my hand. ‘Everything will be alright.’: Mother of 10 overcomes suicide attempt, PTSD, trauma to learn to ‘conquer love’ for her children
“While camping, we came across a family with 4 boys. You could tell they weren’t camping – they lived there. I told my husband as we laid in our tent, ‘I have this weird feeling I know them. They are meant to be in my life.’ Later at church, a member asked if we’d take in 4 boys. My husband just got laid off. ‘Absolutely NOT.’ I was exhausted. When I then learned who the 4 boys were, my heart began to beating so fast.”
‘Birth control?!?!’ At 18, I was told I wouldn’t conceive. WELL, one little puck slipped past the goalie.’: Woman receives emergency hysterectomy at 23, ‘it still stings to think about’
“I was STRONGLY encouraged to wait for kids. My incision was paper thin. 3 months later, I was pregnant. My little baby was growing alongside fibroids the size of ORANGES. To make matters worse, he was sunny-side up. My life was in danger. In my foggy head, I heard, ‘Amber, we can’t get the bleeding to stop. Do you want your tubes tied?’ I woke up covered in blood.”
‘How do you feel about being pregnant?’ I saw little eyes, fingers. ‘This must be a mistake.’ I was 100% knocked up.’: Teen mom loses boyfriend in car crash months before birth, graduates with 4.0
“I didn’t know whether to cry or laugh, be happy or sad. There was a real freaking baby in me! I had so many dreams and aspirations. Teen pregnancy was not in my plans. I dialed my father’s number. ‘Please don’t answer, please don’t answer.’ I took a deep breath. ‘Hello?’ I couldn’t speak. The worst was yet to come. I started bawling.”
‘It snapped me awake. What I thought was snoring, was actually the ‘death rattle.’: Woman remarries after high school sweetheart’s sudden death, creates big, blended family with new husband, ‘I love my husband’s ex-wife’
“I found myself breaking my set of rules with him right away. I never got in a car with someone. I went for a drive with him on the first date, to the middle of nowhere, to ‘look for owls.’ I told him to invite Meredith (his ex) over for Christmas morning. He was confused. I love my husband’s ex-wife.”
‘I’m pregnant’ trembled out of my mouth. I was 16. My mom looked at me with shame, told me to move out.’: 16-year-old teen mom works 3 jobs to make ends meet, graduates nursing school with honors
“I made the decision to keep the baby. As word spread, I could no longer bear going to school. I gave birth, terrified. My nurse had been a teen mom. She stayed with me the entire time. ‘I see something special in you, you can do this.’ In that moment, I knew I was going to be a good mom. For you Ella, I would do it all over again.”
‘I met my husband at 16, got pregnant at 17. He told me he was ‘different’ than all the other teen dads.’: Young mom overcomes ‘the ugly’ in her life, urges us to ‘put mental health first’
“My mental health took a turn for the worst. I found myself not wanting to clean, cook, or shower. I barely wanted to be a mom. Noah and I began arguing. One day, I spread a bottle of pills all over my bed and my mom walked in. I was forced to go to the hospital and get help. I just wanted to go back to being the person I was.”
‘I was a single mom, had 3 fatherless WILD boys, and major baggage. But my daughter is destined for great purpose.’: Mom finally ‘blessed’ with baby girl after 3 boys as a single mother, teen pregnancy
“Single motherhood was rough. The judgement was hard, and I lost friends. Having 3 children while unmarried is frowned upon, especially here in the south. People never took the time to find out why I had 3 children this way, because they had their own assumptions. I didn’t think I’d find someone who’d want to marry me. Then I met Josey. 5 months later, we were married. The emotion was too much. Finally, a daughter.”
