Story Index — Pregnancy

When I was 16 years old, I was pregnant unknowingly, and had a miscarriage in my room without telling anyone. In school, I was never taught about the repercussions needed after going through such a thing. I didn’t really understand why that happened to me. I remember watching videos on celibacy but never in protective actions taken prior to having sex.

When I was in High School, my boyfriend at the time stealthed me (removed the condom during sex without my consent or noticing), and it, unbeknownst to me, caused a pregnancy. A couple months later while at school, I started to get violently ill at school. My vision was blurry, I was nauseous, and I began having trouble walking. We didn’t have a nurse that day, so I had to wait out the school day. By the time I got home, I started having extreme cramps, and started bleeding profusely. I bled through the night, and was in extreme pain. I had a 100 degree fever. My parents determined I had the flu, and wouldn’t take me to the hospital. I didn’t know any better, so I went with it. It wasn’t until I got to college and started receiving health care from my own doctor that I realized I had miscarried.

Giving birth is overwhelming and chaotic and foreign and strange. You can prepare for it, but no amount of preparation compares to being in the hospital room in labor. Both of my labor and deliveries were fairly uneventful. What I found jarring was the after care. I was being given important information and instructions moments after giving birth. I couldn't recall this hours or days later while in immense pain and discomfort. My newborns had excellent care; my husband and I felt prepared to care for them thanks the hospital staff. I wish, however, I had received more personalized and focused care after delivering.It had a big impact in the weeks following my deliveries. This still has a slight impact on my current day-to-day as I had tears when giving birth, but don't recall the degrees