I am 20 years old, and I got pregnant 4 weeks and 4 days ago. I terminated this pregnancy today.
Like many, I was one of those girls that thought that something like this would never happen to them. I was on the pill for almost 3 years, but after being out of a serious relationship for a while I went off of it, not wanting to take unnecessary hormones. When I became involved with my current boyfriend two months ago, I called to make an appointment to go back on the pill. The soonest appointment the campus clinic could get me was a month and a half later. I opted to use condoms as birth control until I could see the OB/GYN to get a new prescription.
The second time my boyfriend and I slept together, the condom slipped off inside me. For some reason, I was a bit paralyzed for the first few days after the incident, not calling about EC like I wish I had. Five days later, I went in to get a pregnancy test. It came back negative. However, I knew I couldn’t trust the results at that point, and the cramping, mood swings and fatigue I felt over the next three weeks told me otherwise. When I didn’t get my period, I returned for a second pregnancy test. This one wasn’t negative. My nurse practitioner was amazing, giving me the weekend to think about my decision, and setting up the appointment as soon as I saw her the next week.
I had a lot of trouble making my decision. I am adopted myself, in an open adoption situation. I knew the situation of my birthmother, and it was very similar to the one I was in. She was in college, got pregnant, but instead, she decided to have the child (me) in a home for unwed mothers, dropping out of college to do so. This made this hard for me, knowing that if my birthmother had made the same decision I had, I would not be here today.
Nevertheless, I do not regret my decision at all. As a student at a prestigious college, I have worked very hard to get to where I am today. Deciding to bring a child into the world at this point would have altered everything that I had ever wanted for myself in life. Selfish, yes, but better than having a child brought into a world where he or she is not welcomed with no regrets. I only hope that if I do have a daughter someday that this option is available to her should she need it.
