i'm 17, planning to start college in august and i think i might be pregnant! But i feel bad because this is not the first time. i got pregant this past summer and i did the unthinkable, i had an abortion. I didn't think that i would ever do that becuase i was completely against it. The main reason i did it was because i felt forced to do it by my boyfriend even though he said it was up to me but i saw it in his face that he did not want to have a baby because we weren't ready. I regret it everyday and i have even lit a candle for my baby in my room because i would've given birth a couple of days ago if i would've kept my baby. But now i'm faced with the dilemma of might being pregnant again. i have a couple of the symptoms already like frequent urination, sleepyness, and tender breasts. I am expecting my period next week and i'm very nervous. If i am pregnant i will keep the baby but i am afraid of what my parents will do, becuase my dad is really srtict and my mom got really upset the last time. i'm very scared of the outcome of me telling them becuase i know my dad will act like a completely differnt person with my mom, my boyfriend, and myself. I don't know what to do and i need some advice of how i should approach my parents if i am pregnant. So if you are reading this and have some advice for me please respond i will really appreciate it. Thank you!

Since you've been pregnant before you know how your body changes so you could be pregnant if your feeling the symptoms. When I became pregnant my boyfriend immediately said abortion. He then changed his mind because I told him the process and showed him pictures of aborted babies. Sometimes people force you into things because they don't know the procedure. I think it's great that you've already decided to choose life if your pregnant or not. Good luck

I was reading another girls question and realized you responded to her as well. You said that you graduated with high honors at 5 months pregnant and i was wondering i have high honors as well and i don't want my family to think that my grades will drop just because i got pregnant. I'm graduating in less than 3 months and i plan on going to college in the fall and i dont want my family to think anything bad about me but i know i won't be able to hide it. I'm scared of what my family will think especially me brother and my father because they are really protective of me! The rest of my family thinks i'm a good girl because of my good grades and i don;t want them to be dissappionted in me especially my grandparents because they were the ones who told my parents that they accepted the relationship that me and my boyfriend have and to just let us be because he seems like an nice guy. i really don't want anything to change between my family and i. if you can give me some advice i'd really appreciate it. Thanks! -Brigitte.

Hey there! Keep up your high honors, it might be hard at times with everything goin on around you but you can do it. Don't let your grades drop! You might as well tell your family about your pregnancy since you can't hide it, it'll make you feel better and take away some stress. I think every girl can get a little scared about her pregnancy whether planned or not. Make sure you tell or show your parents how you feel about the pregnancy. If they give you some grief, don't worry. They'll warm up, especially when they see the beautiful baby you bring into the world! My dad was dissapointed in me when I told him about my baby because he wanted me to go to college and succeed. There are women everyday who have children and still go to college. Maybe a class or two along the way is an option after you have the baby. If the college you plan to attend isn't close enough to where you currently live, maybe you can take community college courses and stick around home through your pregnancy. Also, it's good that your family accepts your boyfriend, that might help as well when you tell them. Think about what your going to say when you tell them your pregnant. Be honest and sincere. Show compassion for your baby. Remember...keep those grades up for you and your baby. Your almost a graduate, you don't have much longer. You can do it!!

Adoption is always an alternative...

www.adoptassoc.com/domestic/wait_fam/show_fam.php?id=164

Best of luck to you...you sound like a strong woman!!

first of all i just want you to know that it doesnt matter what anyone thinks of you, you and the baby should be the most important things right now and for the rest of your lives. i found out i was pregnant when i was 16 years old. i was only a junior in high school and not sure on where my life was going, not to mention i was stuck with the most abusive person you could meet, and living off of drugs. well i was scared, all i could do was think of what will my parents think? my brother oh jeez he was a completely different issue. i was my brothers pride and joy, little mis innocent, i could do no wrong. well because of all the worry my grades slowly started to drop, my life fell into the gutter. i went from an honor student to almost failing myself out of school and having no friends. Then came the day i was 6 months pregnant and the baggy clothes couldnt hide the biggest secret of my life. i brought my family together and told them the one thing that would change my life forever. My parents didnt take it so well, actually they didnt take it at all that was the last time i had talked to them in quite a while. hiding something that important can only hurt you and your family in the long run. my brother on the other hand as scared as i was to tell him he was there for me 110%, the people you would last except to understand are going to be the ones to run the mile with you. Nov 23rd came around 3 weeks after i told my family and i delivered a beautiful baby girl named adrianna lee 4lb 4oz, i was scared but happy to see those eyes and feel those fingers try to grip mine.at that very second i knew i would do whatever it took to let that baby have the best life i could offer.for the first month of her life i wasnt enrolled in a inpatient drug rehab, i left the school i was enrolled in the beginning of my senior year, started work full time and went to school at night. my grades went from a 1.7 GPA to a 4.0 and graduating at the top of my class. i never depended on one person, just myself and waking up to that beautiful baby's face every morning.i would take her to work with me, to school at night, to the library to study. i wont lie that its been hard but its definately been the best experience i have ever been given. adrianna is now a year and a half, her father isnt in her life at all but she has all the love in the world. i graduated from school and now work as a full time medical assistant and im only 18 years old. yeah i miss out on alot of things that teens get to do, but its nothing i will ever regret because the life that i created couldnt be surpassed by anything more important. i live for that baby. she has showed me that life is all that you make it. As for my parents on adrianna's 1st birthday they showed up to my house with tears filling their eyes. No one realizes what they are missing until its to late. Both parents love me and her and support everything that i have done. I hope the best for you and the baby if you do find out your pregnant. you wouldnt believe how many people are out there who have lived the life that you may one day have. its all of what you make of it. i wont tell you to be scared because its a very scary thing, but all i can say is you have my blessing and all the luck anyone could offer.

heather & addy