My Teen Pregnancy Story: I Finished College With A Baby

Hi everyone, I wanted to share my teenage pregnancy story so that I could hopefully help other teenagers who are in a similar situation to me. I got pregnant when I had just turned sixteen. I had been with my boyfriend Andrew for about three months. We were a typical high school romance, he was in my grade and we had Spanish class together. We met when we ended up partnered together for a speaking assignment. Three months later we were so in love. Every time he kissed me sparks would fly and I was so happy. He made me feel special.

We hit three months into our relationship and it felt like Andrew was everything I could ever want. We were hanging out and things started getting hot and heavy like it always did, but this time we did not stop. It was my first time having sex. I thought we were being careful using a condom, but somehow it broke. I was terrified over the next few weeks, but he kept telling me it would be ok and it was super unlikely to get pregnant the first time ever having sex. Eventually, I believed him, and we started having sex more often.

My periods had always been irregular. It was normal for me to go six or seven weeks in between, so when I first missed my period I did not even notice. Several weeks later I realized it had been a long time since my last period. I could not even remember the last one. I snuck a test home and sure enough, I was pregnant. I told my boyfriend first. We were both scared, and he suggested maybe I should have an abortion. I was in shock. I had not really had an opinion about abortion before that moment, but I knew there was no way I could abort my baby. We fought, and he truthfully said he would be supportive, but he was not ready to be a father.

Related: Teenage Pregnancy Effects On Mother And Father: A Closer Look

My family is super conservative, and down here in the south good girls do NOT get pregnant. Your mama tells you horror stories about “those girls.” I was terrified, but eventually I told my mom and dad. They were disappointed in me and it was really hard to look them in the eye. My dad was in shock I think and just kept saying that I was ruining my entire college experience and was ruining my life. We had planned that I was going to go to the University of Georgia, just like mom and dad had. Eventually, they were supportive, but I felt like I had disappointed them so much.

I gave birth to my son Noah at the end of the summer.  I quit school for six months but finished later. It took me twice as long as I thought it would with a baby at home. Andrew tried to be supportive, but we fought a lot and eventually he stopped coming around. Mom would watch Noah and I was able to finish a business degree in five years at a local college. I moved out of my parents’ house when Noah was four. I finally had enough money saved that I could get us a place just for us. Being pregnant during high school was not easy, I cannot imagine not having Noah. My teenage pregnancy story is not a fairytale. I love Noah so much, and I think we turned out alright.

*Amanda is a single mom from Atlanta, Georgia to Noah who is now 8. She is sharing her story with us as part of our series on teenage pregnancy.

Image Credit: Chris McBrien, Steven Goldstein