I turned my situation into a blessing- Ciara 24

“Head over hills.”

I got a boyfriend when I was in high school, we only used to see each other briefly during school breaks and holidays. I have very strict parents who would never allow me to date, especially not this young. This means I had to sneak out late at night and then sneak back in before my parents could notice. This was hard to do; I was always so scared that they will find out. But as I was head over hills, I decided the risk is worth it.

“We were ready to take the next step.”

When we finished high school, we saw each other more often. I would lie and say I’ve gone to meet friends but I would meet up with him and we would go on dates. We would talk on the phone all the time and text each other constantly with the silliest of jokes or just to check in with each other. We couldn’t get enough of each other. One day, we decided that we were both ready to finally have sex. He bought the condoms and went to his place as nobody would be home, and I, in turn, told my parents I would be staying at my cousins' for the night, and I also made her aware so that she would cover for me.

“I couldn’t be more wrong.”

I thought that as long as we used a condom, I couldn’t get pregnant. I couldn’t be more wrong! Don’t get me wrong, condoms decrease the chances of a person getting pregnant. But in my case, the condom burst, and we had no clue. We both didn’t notice that the condom burst and we went about our lives. After about three weeks or so, I began feeling constantly nauseated. My breasts were tender and I was tired all the time. I decided to go to the hospital for a checkup. To my surprise, the doctor told me I was pregnant. I didn’t believe it. I asked them to double-check the results. How could this happen? We were so careful! We used a condom and after telling the doctor this he explained that the condom may have burst.

“I had my community around me.”

I had only had sex once and we were safe. I didn’t think I would get pregnant. I had to tell my parents and my boyfriend. I sat down with my parents and told them what had happened. They were shocked and angry. But after processing, they supported me and assisted me where they can. When I told my boyfriend he was stunned at first but he came around. When my time came to deliver my baby, I had a community around me. My boyfriend also tried to be as present as possible for our child. I stayed with my parents, and I planned to join the university the next year. I have since learnt about different forms of contraception and the in future moving forward, I will opt to use them. I am grateful to have gone through this with support because it was very scary.