Teen juggles student life, motherhood and homemaking

Dear Diary,

I AM a 16-year-old teenage mother of a 10-month-old baby boy. I was expelled from the regular school system when it was discovered that I was pregnant. But with the help of the Ministry of Education and the Women's Centre Foundation of Jamaica, I am now back in the regular school system and I'm grateful.

I began having sex when I was 13 years old because all my friends were doing it. I got pregnant at age 15. I had mixed reactions about the pregnancy. I felt sad, but happy because my son's father was around to help me.

Having my son has taught me how to be responsible, and I am very good at managing my time. I also get a lot of help from the community where I live.

I live with my boyfriend who is 23 years old. My daily routine is that when I get up in the mornings, I make porridge for the baby and make breakfast for the two of us. Every evening when I get home from school, I wash clothes for the baby, my boyfriend and myself. My boyfriend works during the days and provides food and upkeep. He comes home at around 8 p.m. each day, and I always have his dinner ready for him.

Although I have to juggle school and motherhood, I am very happy because I have another chance to achieve my goals and do my CSEC. Next year, I will be doing seven subjects. At school, I am also a part of the health club, where we participate in various exercises, watch movies and talk about our health issues. I love the teachers at my school. They are not abrupt and they teach in the simplest way so that every student can understand. I just love this school.

If I had it to do again, I would never get pregnant, as I would not have stopped taking the contraceptives. Peer pressure to have sex was very strong, so I am not sure I would not have sex. Children in school just kept talking about sex - the way they described the act was very graphic and I wanted to experience it. What made it worse was that the opportunity was there. I had a boyfriend, and so I didn't have to go through the effort of finding somebody.

Teenagers like us should not have serious relationships as it is an opportunity to engage in sexual activity. But if you are sexually active, you should use a condom everytime, as you can get a sexually transmitted infection or pregnant.

The above article is made possible through support from UNAIDS Project Acceleration Fund, UNESCO and UN Women. We welcome comments and feedback from other teenage mothers. You can send these to info@eveforlife.org.