Nose cleaning, book carrying, diaper holding, test taking, lullaby singing individuals with the dream of completing their education and creating a foundation for the one they call baby can be seen all over campus now-a-days with a stroller and backpack, determined to become more than a statistic.
College mothers are more popular than in recent years, because of the support of their parents and community giving them the encouragement to do more than the average. Allowing a young lady to drop out upon learning she’s pregnant is a last result. Having things like scholarships, grants, and day cares on campus gives them option to be the mother they can be while continuing to receive their education.
Brukendra Jackson, a senior agriculture animal science major, said this when asked about her life before and after giving birth. “I had plans on attending Prairie View A&M University and a baby was not part of that plan; upon learning I was pregnant I found myself torn between school and my baby. This was my life that I had to decide on. I could be affected deeply by whatever choice I made. On February 29, 2008, I was blessed with a baby boy, 6 lbs. 10 oz. I went to school my entire nine months, which consisted of fall 2007 and spring 2008.
“Once people learned I was pregnant, majority of talk was negative such as, ‘you’re not going to finish school, why are you still going to school? you might as well sit out a semester,’ and anything else you could imagine to discourage me. I proved all of them wrong. I am in my senior year of college and my baby boy is 7 months. I believe anything can be done with determination, consistency and perseverance. I had a goal to complete and sitting out of school was not an option for me. It is rough having a baby and going to school because both of them cost money, neither one is cheap, but I have to get an education for my baby boy and myself. I am not the type of mother who just drops my baby off with a relative. I am actually a mother. It is much different than before because now it’s not just me, I have to put my baby first.
“When I’m going somewhere I have to a get diaper bag ready and extra clothes. I have to make sure I have enough of whatever I need. Sometimes I don’t even get to eat when I want or even take a bath in peace because of my baby. It’s the choice that I made so I am dealing with it.”
Just as time changes so do the actions of the people who inhabit this place we call earth. The actions and mind frame of young mothers from back then to now have changed drastically. The United States has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the western industrialized world. Teen pregnancy costs the United States at least $7 billion annually.
The fact that just under one-third of all girls in the United States will get pregnant in their teenage years is a sobering thought. Obviously, teen pregnancy is a problem in the United States. The good news is that teen births have dropped by almost a third since the beginning of the 1990s. With pregnancy prevention programs and more understanding and teaching about safe sex, this number will hopefully drop even more.