i was 27, in my second year of graduate school and in the second year of a four year work contract, when i found out i was unexpectedly pregnant. the father, and my then boyfriend, did not care to have a child and i was unprepared to have one by myself. it was a lose-lose choice as far as i was concerned, yet i am grateful that i had the choice.

i write down this story with my beautiful 3 month old daughter asleep in my arms. as i approached my late thirties without yet finding the live of my life i decided to simply go ahead and have a child on my own.

two years ago i was 14 years old and in an abusive relationship with my boyfriend. after a year together he raped me and that was how i lost my virginity.

at ten weeks i learned that my second pregnancy had an anomaly, heterotaxy combined with a congenital heart defect. the odds of survival outside of the womb were all bad.

i was changing health care programs and missed one month of birth control pills. my husband and i (we were married for only 6 months) later found out i was 6-weeks pregnant.

i was 19 and in college and i had to make the biggest decision of my life. to have a baby whose father was a drug user and a drinker. who had already cheated on me and then dumped me.