“At some point during contractions, she decided she didn’t want to be pregnant anymore. She hit her stomach a few times. I came out with a broken shoulder, black and blue on one side of my body, and a large hematoma on my head.”
‘I was struggling to gasp for air, peeing blood. I heard doctors yell, ‘Code Blue!’: Former NFL cheerleader survives difficult childhood, daughter’s Angelman Syndrome diagnosis
‘I was 13 when an older friend said, ‘I’m out of condoms but it’s fine, I know what I’m doing.’ I believed him.’: Woman says the key to a healthy sex life after a ‘past’ is communication
“At 13, I began to let boys put their hands on my sacred spaces, but my permission still didn’t gain their respect. I was just a goal conquered as he walked past the football team. I saw the smirks and yet I continued to endure the degrading behavior. Sex is so much more sacred than mankind has treated it.”
‘I’d just turned 18 when this strange man I met minutes before gave me life-altering news: ‘You’re pregnant.’: Teen mom says ‘things from your past don’t define who you will grow to be’
“He asked me on a date, but I was so unsure he would ever be into me that I didn’t know it was a real date. ‘She invited her FRIENDS,’ he yelled. ‘Don’t look at me!’ Those are the first words the love of my life, Kyle, would speak to me. It really sets the tone for our story.”
‘Oh wow, she’s YOURS? Don’t you feel like you’re missing out?’ It hurt. My ego was busted.’: Young mom says, ‘God put her into my life early so I could love her a little longer’
“It hurt. I’m not going to lie. She is a beautiful lady, successful in her career, parents well, and her daughter is adorable. This is a mom I looked up to.”
‘The nurse kept asking, ‘Are you ready to take her off life support?’ She knelt down with her stethoscope and confirmed she was gone.’: Mom loses 3 babies to kidney disease, ‘We love harder and hug tighter’
“My entire future was dark. How was I going to keep living when my baby died? We were always waiting to find out if our baby would die and now we were waiting to find out if we’d have a baby that would live. That moment was when the world stood still. We were pregnant for the fourth time.”
‘I found photos of my husband in women’s clothing at flamboyant gay clubs. My ‘manly man’ had on a wig, heels, and clip-on earrings. I was floored.’: Woman discovers fiancé’s secret life, ‘This was the tip of the iceberg’
“Not once had I ever logged into anything of his. I never thought I had a reason to. Our relationship was secure. I was secure. I noticed his email was open. To this day, I am still not sure what made me click on his open email. I like to think it was my grandma looking down, trying to save me from the worst mistake of my life.”
‘I checked the mail to find a strange woman asking my husband for child support. 8 years into marriage, I found out he had another daughter the exact age as our 6-year-old.’: Woman with vitiligo shares incredible journey, ‘Never give up on your dreams’
“At 17, I got pregnant. Life completely changed. After discovering my husband’s double life, I went into the shower to find a white spot under my arm. I tried to scrub it off, but it wouldn’t move. Every time I checked, the spot was bigger and bigger. ‘Is it cancer? Is it contagious?’ I asked the doctor.’There’s no cure.’ As he pulled up pictures on his laptop, I began to cry. ‘I’m going to be a monster.’ Here I was, my marriage ending, horrified no one would ever want me again.”
‘You can terminate the pregnancy or wait for the baby’s heart to be crushed.’ I feared being judged by friends and family for deciding to save my life.’: Woman births rainbow baby after painful decision to abort dying son, ‘He was suffocating’
“It was the day of my first stomach ultrasound. The doctor was quiet. He ended with, ‘I’m getting you in with the doctor’s downstairs soon,’ and walked out. I thought they were going to tell me the gender. I was so naive. ‘Madi, we aren’t here to find out the gender. We’re here because your doctor thinks your baby is dying.’ I bawled. I was handed a sticky note with a phone number for an abortion clinic. It was a matter of time before my body started breaking down.”
‘It’s important they can come to you and ask what a ‘BJ’ is and if it can give you an STD. Yes, I said BJ.’: Mom explains the importance of answering kids’ sex questions
“She was 7. As you can imagine, when I came home pregnant at 14, I was terrified. It was my choice to either silence her or lean in. I leaned.”
‘She looked down at my screensaver. ‘Your nephew?’ Her question stung. ‘No, my son.’: Young mom says ‘my motherhood is no less valid than yours’
“No matter how many lunches I pack, boo-boos I kiss, or preschool forms I fill out, the world doesn’t read me as a wife and mother.”
