Did you know that in 2015, a total of 229,715 babies were born to women aged 15–19 years in the US?
Believe it or not, this is a vast improvement from 2007 – the year I became a teen mother.
I gave birth to my first child a month after turning 19.
And how did this happen, you may ask?
Well, I was young and reckless.
No, really.
As cliché as that may sound, it is true. Teenagers live in a world where the rules are not applicable to them. This is an expected finding in this part of human development (literally! #science). It’s easy to live a life of risky behavior when you don’t know or don’t fear the consequences of your actions.
Until it happens to you, of course!
I will never forget taking that pregnancy test alone in a Dillon’s bathroom. I had a gut feeling that this was the reality of what was happening. Immediate panic set in. Trying to hold it all together, walking out of the bathroom, and then running into some schoolmates is maybe one of the top 10 worst experiences of my life.
Rumor has it that pregnancies are supposed to be a happy time in your life. My reality was different. I went to my car and cried. A lot. Candidly, the crying didn’t really stop until well after my child was born. My state of denial was textbook. I told no one, not even my mom or best friend, for about 7 months, when the baggy clothing could no longer hide the “Scarlet Letter” I wore on my belly.
Obviously, the choice was not an easy one. However, it’s a choice many young women choose to live with – oftentimes alone and without many resources or support. At the time of Eli’s birth, I was waiting tables. Clearly not getting a maternity leave, I returned to work the next week.
I did what many young mothers do: I chose to forgo my high school education and worked instead.
Through a series of fortunate events and a whole lot of luck and support from family and friends, I eventually obtained my high school diploma and went on to be a successful, educated adult.
But the odds were not in my favor.
Minorities, like me, are often set up for failure from the start. Per the CDC, young women have higher rates of teen pregnancy due to:
- Low education and low-income levels of a teen’s family.
- Few opportunities in a teen’s community for positive youth involvement.
- Neighborhood racial segregation.
- Neighborhood physical disorder (e.g., graffiti, abandoned vehicles, litter, alcohol containers, cigarette butts, glass on the ground).
- Neighborhood-level income inequality.
Not to mention that teens living in foster care or other child welfare systems are more than twice as likely to become pregnant than those not in foster care.
So, what do we do? How do we fix this mess we’re in?
First and foremost, we must remind young women that they are worthy.
They are worthy of love. They are worthy of success. They are worthy of MORE.
The statistics paint a stark, but realistic picture of this systemic problem. We must invest in communities who need it most. We must fix this issue with prevention and education.
Becoming a mother at a young age was no walk in the park. But I must admit that, looking back, it has given me an incredible amount of perspective and drive to do better. I use this motivation today to educate others as much as I can. I volunteer my time and knowledge to remind young women of their worth.
I hope you will all join me in doing the same, any way you can.
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