I know that many of the teenage mothers out there are dealing with the thought of abortion and trying to figure out if they really want to give up their teenage years for a baby. I just want to share an encouraging word with them. I know that if I was strong enough to get through it all, then just about anyone can. There will be ups and downs of motherhood, but there are ups and downs in all of life, really.

Dear Becky,

I was reading some of the stories on your Web-site and I wanted to share mine with you also. I got pregnant just before my 16th birthday, a shock to anyone who knew me. I was the shy, “good” girl that would never do such a “bad” thing like have sex. My fiance (at the time) and I were trying for a baby because we thought it was what we wanted/needed. Later I found out that I wanted to have a baby to escape from my home situation. I didn’t grow up very well, what would probably be considered pretty average nowadays. I wanted to escape from my home life, which was a complete mess, both in the physical sense (the house was a disaster), and the emotional sense. As a teenager, I went through many cycles of depression and feelings of suicide, which didn’t completely disappear with my pregnancy, but my pregnancy did end up keeping me alive at the time.

I had thought on numerous occasions of killing myself, even though I was pregnant, but I just couldn’t take an innocent life along with my own. 

My fiance and I wed when I was 16, he was 17, and I was about 7 months pregnant at the time. The pregnancy wasn’t exactly an easy road, nor was the road of motherhood up ahead, but I stayed the course and delivered a healthy baby boy, who is now five years old. (His father and I divorced a few years ago and I remarried last year.)

I had to give up many activities for my son, and I don’t regret any of it really. I changed schools to one that offered free daycare to mothers in high school (Thank God there was such a thing in my city, or I may have ended up dropping out like so many are having to do.) I finished my high school degree and am now enrolled in an online school for my Bachelors in Elementary Education.

I don’t recommend getting pregnant on purpose at such a young age. In fact, I now believe that you should remain abstinent until marriage. Sex can put unnecessary strain on an otherwise great relationship, if not in marriage. I know this from my own personal experiences and experiences ofpast friends.

I know that many of the teenage mothers out there are dealing with the thought of abortion and trying to figure out if they really want to give up their teenage years for a baby. I just want to share an encouraging word with them. I know that if I was strong enough to get through it all, then just about anyone can. There will be ups and downs of motherhood, but there are ups and downs in all of life, really. If you let your child live, you will never regret it. I couldn’t find any more joy at the time of my son’s birth than knowing I had helped create this little human being. Pregnancy is truly a miracle.

As a sidenote: If I hadn’t been pregnant at the time, I believe that I would have tried smoking weed when it was available to me to try. I thank God that I was pregnant and didn’t want to risk that harm to the baby. My son may have saved me from becoming a drug addict.

I pray that my story helps some of these young ladies.

God Bless You,

Karen