Pregnant, Young, and Alone

Pregnant, young and alone; could it get any worse than this?  You are 18 years old with dreams of college and career.  You thought you’ve had it all planned.  However, one simple miscalculation, you went overboard with your boyfriend and he got you pregnant.  Upon learning it, he left you.

Now fear is gripping you.  Your future is now in shambles.  What will happen to your college plan?  How are you going to go through this?  Will you have abortion?  How are you going to provide for your child?  On top of this is your fear of what your parents, family and friends will say about your situation. 

You need help! Emotional and of course financial.

Let us discuss your emotional need first.  Where do you get help?  Help starts with you.

Being young, pregnant and alone you may experience criticism, pity, or you may be ostracized.  People are human beings reacting and responding differently depending on their background, upbringing and spiritual beliefs.  Do not be put down by reactions you may get from people around you.  Care less of them, think more of yourself.  Be strong, you need this in your new journey.

Stop worrying.  Worry will get you nowhere.  Face your problem and start thinking of what must be done. You now have to alter your plans to adapt to your new route.

What should you do?  You probably are considering abortion to hide your mistakes from your family and friends.  Or you might go through the pregnancy and give away your child after birth to free you from obligations and financial burden. Abortion is not an option.  You can never solve a problem with another problem.  Abortion is a sin.  Though you may not be spiritual, consider the health complications brought about by abortion.  Can you afford to give your child away because you do not want the burden of taking care of your baby or because of financial concerns?  I have counseled a number of ladies who did just that but now regret it.  They can’t help crying every time they remember that they gave away their child because they do not want to fulfill their obligations. It was too late when they realized that the only need of a baby is love; and this love is binds the mother and the child.  The moment you lay eyes on your baby, you will feel that love oozing deep down into your soul and this love will enable you to find means to take care of him and provide his needs. I hope you will not add to this statistics.

Now that you’ve decided against abortion and in keeping your baby, you can enjoy the miracle growing inside of you.  Believe me, the joy in raising up a child far exceeds the issues that you may encounter.  Children are a blessing and the innocent love that they give will keep you going and enjoying life and your new journey.

You can better overcome emotional issues if your family and friends are supportive. If they are  not, look for support groups where stories of single moms will give you strength and  encouragement. Use the power of technology. With the advent of the internet, forums abound. Search for single mom forums to uplift your spirit and get advice from these single moms.  Some members of these forums even give their emails so you can discuss more privately and this could be the start of having new friends.

Though life may be different from what you’ve envisioned, there is still life after getting pregnant at a young age and without a husband to help you go through the physical, emotional and financial changes in your life.