Youth / OPINION : Having a Baby ‘Changed My Life, My Goals’

GINA ROBERTSON

Los Angeles, 17

My getting pregnant was an accident. I really did love the baby’s father. So I did it and I accepted the circumstances. Everything a teen-ager does, I still do. I still want to go to college.

My advice to other teen-age girls is to be careful and be prepared for what may happen. Do what you want to do. Don’t let people pressure you. If you love someone, do it. If you don’t want to do it, don’t.

MIRZA MADRID

Los Angeles, 17

I didn’t want to have a baby. I was 14 years old when I had my little girl. I started to cry when I first found out. If I could do it all over again, I would get my high school diploma, a job and a place to live and wait until I’m about 25 before I have a child. Right now I’m 17 and I want to have fun. But I can’t. My goals now are to finish high school and become a police officer.

My advice to other girls is don’t get pregnant. Babies are real cute and pretty, but they take a lot of work. It’s hard.

JENNIFER PICKETT

Venice, 17

My boyfriend moved in with us. We began to share the same room. I became a parent at 15 years old. I never considered abortion. I don’t believe in it. I never thought about giving my daughter up for adoption, either.

My advice to other girls is to wait. It’s hard juggling being a student, a parent and having a job. I have to work at Taco Bell to make ends meet. You can’t go anywhere without your baby crying. You don’t hardly have any friends because they always want to go out. I can’t do that.

DELORES LOVOYA

Orange County, 18

I have a 9-month-old child. I got pregnant when I was 16. Even though I’ve missed a lot of things because I have a baby, I’m really happy. I love my baby.

It has changed my life. Now I have to think about the future. I thought about college before I got pregnant, but I really didn’t care. Now I know what I want to do.

My life is very regimented. I go to school and come home. I took a lot of extra classes, so I’m in school until 4 p.m. Also, a lot of girls fail to think about how much your body changes. My body has changed a lot. Everybody thinks it won’t happen to me. I won’t get pregnant. It happened to me, though. I used to be one of those people.

LATRIVETTE HENDERSON

Orange County, 17

I have a daughter. She’s 3. My baby was an accident. They didn’t pass out condoms then. I’m a Christian. We don’t believe in abortions.

Being a mother makes me very busy. At first, when my daughter was younger, it was easier. It gets harder as she gets older. I’m on the cheer squad at school, so I’m real busy. I’m hardly home. She’s active and always wants attention.

It’s very hard when you’re trying to do homework. She wants to do homework, too. You can’t tell her she can’t do homework. She’ll grab it and try to write on it. It’s a sacrifice having a baby. I don’t have much freedom any more. My relationship with my mother is not the same as it used to be. I live at home with my parents and I’m a parent, too.