Teenage motherhood is a fact of life that no one seems to accept yet. It has also been around for longer than anyone thinks. Our grandparents used to get married as early as fourteen and have children right after. But sometime during the last century, someone turned teen pregnancy into a bad situation. I'm not advocating that we should all become teen parents just because our ancestors did it but I am saying that once it's done, it's done. There's no going back once the baby is conceived so why should any teen mom have to deal with attitudes that are less than helpful. We need assistance, not cold shoulders.
"so i'll always be called a teenage mom, huh?" asks terry*, age seventeen with one child. "well, that's okay either way because I take care of my child better than most 'adults'. Let them call me one. I'll take it as a compliment."