Difficult emotional time because I was only 18

by Oddicea A. Linton

I had a beautiful baby girl four months ago. It was quite a shock when I missed my period in September 2005, especially since I was only 18 years old. I never took an actual pregnancy test because somehow I just felt it all over that I was definitely pregnant. Six weeks later my appetite changed dramatically; everything I ate made my stomach sick. I became nauseous and constantly had this uncontrollable urge to spit.

My whole first trimester was kept a secret to everyone but my boyfriend who helped me to cope with all the different emotions I was going through. It wasn't so bad because I stayed really active and carried out my normal day to day activies.

The second trimester was when everyone found out and it was such an heart wrenching emotional time for my family and close friends. I was sad that my first pregnancy felt more like a funeral than a time of celebrating new life. However my 2nd trimester was the best of the whole nine months and everyone finally accepted the fact that a baby was coming very soon and the future began to look brighter.

I often visited websites about pregnancy and motherhood especially "askdramy.com" which helped with all my questions and curiosity. The Chat board "Woman to Woman" is the best and even though it's been four months since giving birth, I still use it to this day.

I spent approximately two hours in active labour before Rae-Anna was born and it was not as bad or painful as everyone made it seem, but I guess we are all different.

My daughter has brought alot of joy to my life, now I'm going back to school to make our future better. Having a baby can be one of the best things that ever happened to a woman especially when all your priorities are set straight, when the right guy is there and overall family planning is done efficiently.