Babies Raising Babies by Grace Verhoeven staff writer
Teen parenthood is all about managing struggles between school and home life, and for many, help can be hard to come by
Photos Courtesy of N. Worden
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een pregnancy is a growing topic that many people find hard to understand; why would teens risk their lives and futures by becoming pregnant in high school? As a society, it’s important to understand both sides of the story and for teen parents to feel understood and not judged. People need to know the struggles teen moms go through, as well as the good parts to fully understand their strength and confidence. Teen pregnancy can be immature, but it often turns into maturity in most cases. Teen parents have to step up and make the hard decisions that affect not just their life, but their child’s too. They have to trade in parties, friends, and homework for bath time, bottles, and burping. Having fun will consist of tummy 26 // BGQ // October 2021
time instead of party time. For many young mothers, a sick baby means having to miss school or work and having to decide between paying the electric bill or having food for the week. When the pregnancy test shows a positive result, many teen moms feel as if their entire future has slipped through their fingertips. Nakeyta Worden, a former TCAPS student, was a teen mother, and her health and future were forever altered the day she found out she was pregnant as a senior in high school. Not only did she have to make the decision to not attend college right away, her health was significantly worse. Teens are more at risk for pregnancy complications, specifically an increased risk of high blood pres-
