nena’s Story

I was 19 years old when I got pregnant for the first time.  When my father realized I was pregnant he demanded I have an abortion, and he offered the money to pay for it. My mother-in-law and my boyfriend also pressured me to get an abortion and while my mom told me she would respect my choice, she said it was going to be a painful experience that I would regret for the rest of my life. That same day I learned that my dad previously pressured my mom to abort my sibling. This revelation was really surprising and painful, but ultimately,  it gave me the courage to fight for my babies and I gave birth to twins.  After a year, my relationship ended. During the time I was pregnant my father didn’t talk or even look at me, and he was previously my “go-to” person so I felt abandoned.  

When I came to the center I was really scared because I was in a relationship with a man who was separated from his first wife, but still married.  It was 2020 at this point and I had been feeling ill and grieving my aunt’s death due to COVID.  My partner and I went to the clinic and the doctor decided to do a pregnancy test.  It was very hurtful when my partner told me “I hope you have COVID and that you are not pregnant.” It felt like he was wishing a death sentence upon me as he knew I was still trying to cope with my aunt’s death. As a result, I felt used instead of loved. When the positive result came, his face dropped, and he didn’t want our baby. He said, “Why would we want to start all over again?” My children were 16 years old at the time, and he had two daughters. This situation was very tough for us emotionally.  Once again, I was being pressured to choose abortion, but I was determined to continue my pregnancy because I wanted my baby. 

When I came to the center, it felt like family. I was treated in a different way, with love and care. My partner and I came together, and that day in between many tears I told my partner that I was keeping my baby and that he could leave if he wanted.  I was neglected by him during my pregnancy, but he stayed. I started attending the support group and realized that I was not the only one in this difficult situation. My experience in the support group was the key to reaffirming my decision to embrace Mathew’s life. I was being motivated weekly and the topics that we shared helped me to manage my situation. I had a difficult pregnancy, going through gestational diabetes and preeclampsia, and at 36 weeks I needed to have an emergency C-section. It was a very scary situation, but the fact that I was being supported by the center with emotional support, material assistance,  parenting classes, and food boxes helped me to navigate through all this with the hope that it was going to be okay because I was not alone anymore. I will be forever grateful to the center, the volunteers and to all the people who make it possible for a place like this to exist.