The Pregnant and The Proud

We all hear about pregnant high schoolers, but do we ever really know why the want to have a child is so wrong? Do we ever really consider how brave these girls are? Do we ever understand how this affects them? The thing about teenage pregnancy is that it isn’t always a bad thing. However, we discourage people to be parents instead of encouraging them to be whatever they want to be. Even if you want to be a teen mom, there are quite a few issues which you will suffer from.

Pregnancy is a very good thing for some people, but for others it happens to be their worst nightmare. In 2014, there were 249,078 babies born of women ages 14-19. Birthrates have dropped by 11% since then, but the numbers fluctuate based on contraceptive use, abstinence, or even abortion. Even if you want to be a mother in high school, there are only 30% of pregnant students that graduate high school, and less than 3% that finish college.

Paula Torres, a senior, is carrying her little girl all around the school grounds. Juggling a job, keeping up with her studies, friendships, and her relationship with her boyfriend, she’s determined to be a great mother. “Five years after Melody is born, I plan on going to college,” she said. As a wanderlusting teenager, Paula had dreams of traveling the world, but those dreams have been diminished after she met her boyfriend and began starting her family. She said one day, she’ll work hard so she can, but it’ll just take her more time now and that every second is worth it. I asked Paula if she had any advice for teen moms and she said, “don’t lose hope for your own future. Of course, having a kid is expensive and difficult, but still chase your dreams.”