“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.”
‘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
‘It happened. My husband messaged a woman I didn’t recognize. What I saw made me cry.’: Woman celebrates mental health growth after discovering her old texts, ‘I am nothing like that woman now’
“He was showering after a long day with our kids and happened to leave his phone on the table. Unlocked. For some reason, I felt compelled to look at his messages. I scroll up, hoping to see some cute old texts we sent months back. I wanted to re-read them, to smile. What I saw, made me want to cry. The person he was texting was a very broken woman.”
‘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.”
‘We should buy a test.’ ‘For what? I have an IUD. There’s no way!’’: 19-year-old mom has surprise pregnancy on the pill, second baby with IUD, ‘I can’t imagine my life any other way’
“WHAT!! How?? I had an alarm on my phone reminding me to take my pill every single day! She insisted I test anyway…sure enough, it was positive. ‘This isn’t a baby yet. You have options.’ Once I saw the baby on the ultrasound, I knew my only option was to give our child a chance at life. I knew God had a plan for me.”
‘Let’s do it. Tell them yes!’ I begged him. She was so fragile, perfect, small, like holding a doll.’: 25-year-old ‘mama to many’ discovers she’s pregnant while fostering, ‘What! Seriously?!’
“I’m only 25. Married with two kids at 23. And boom, surprise! We were pregnant again! My husband was downstairs playing on his phone… relaxing. ‘Babe….’ Silence. The look on his face – pure disbelief. I get a call. ‘We have a 3-month-old, very preemie baby girl, ready to be discharged and on oxygen.’ My first thought was, ‘There is no way we can handle this.’ I knew my husband wasn’t going to be on board.”
‘You’re 100% knocked up!’ I was 19. My family didn’t believe in sex before marriage and thought I was a virgin!’: Teen mom loses partner to ‘head-on collision’ months before giving birth
“Fighting back tears, I dialed my dad’s number. ‘Please don’t answer, please don’t answer.’ ‘Hello?’ I took a deep breath and started bawling. ‘Dad, I messed up.’ I thought the worst was over. It wasn’t. He wasn’t with my mom. We now had to do a three-way call and tell the woman who still thought I was a virgin. Then, the collision happened. I was going to be a single mom.”
‘Your boyfriend has to deliver the baby.’ I was squatted on a bathroom floor, 20, convinced I was going to die.’: Woman delivers baby on bathroom floor after ‘grumpy midwife’ tells her to ‘go home’
“The contractions were progressing extremely quickly, but the midwife seemed grumpy and fed up. She didn’t believe me. ‘Go home. This could go on for days.’ Days?! I couldn’t cope with another hour of the pain! As soon as we pulled into our driveway, I ran to the bathroom. ‘Call an ambulance!’ I yelled at my confused boyfriend. ‘My body is pushing. I can’t stop it!’ I’d only known him 3 months before we got pregnant.”
‘I got pregnant at 19. I only knew my boyfriend 7 months. I wanted to be a mom, but never thought it’d happen so young.’: Young mom claims ‘age doesn’t define’ her ability to be a ‘good mother’
“My body was still growing and, before I knew it, my body was no longer just mine. I graduated from high school a week before giving birth. People doubt me, judge me, and think I don’t know what I’m doing. In reality, no one is ready to become a parent. NONE of us know what we’re doing. The only difference is I met my kids sooner and I have more time to love on them longer.”
‘Kids shouldn’t have kids.’ Shame spread over me. As a teen, I couldn’t hide my big belly.’: Teen mom explains why she ‘kept her baby’ at 16-years-old
“I had no money, no desire to be a mother. ‘You’re 6 weeks along.’ She pointed to a picture on a paper. ‘A heartbeat? Already?!’ 5 minutes ago I didn’t even know I was pregnant. It seemed so fast, too fast for me. I knew some would think I slept around, that I was promiscuous. I knew girls would talk.”
‘At 17, two pink lines changed everything. While my friends were out partying and going to football games, I sat in a rocking chair and cried while my baby cried.’ Disabled teen mom doesn’t want others to ‘feel sorry for her’, reminds us to ‘show compassion’
“It wasn’t about me, it wasn’t just my life anymore. It was about this little baby growing. I didn’t care about myself or my future and it showed in my daily decisions. I was a mess, a completely reckless teenager. Sometime after getting put on probation, totaling my car, and losing credit from skipping school, I decided I needed a change. I was focused on giving her the life I never had.”
