But for those who go through it alone with little guidance or help from family and friends, this process can be even more challenging.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the birth rate among teens in Ohio is 21.8 percent, which is just above the nation’s average of 20.3 percent.
The rate of unmarried expectant mothers soars at 43 percent, exceeding the nation’s average of 39.8 percent, according to the CDC.
Although unplanned pregnancies have declined 62 percent between 1991 and 2015, according to The National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy, Ohio taxpayers still spend more than $820 million each year to support the 55 percent of expectant mothers that did not plan their pregnancies and can’t afford the expenses.
Without the assistance of Medicaid, many expectant mothers would be forced to abort or give their children up for adoption, according to the National Women’s Law Center. For those who decide to keep their child, there are difficulties associated with pregnancy that require more support than Medicaid alone.
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Struggles of Unexpected Pregnancy
“I was young and I wasn’t ready to be a mother,” said Jasmyne McCutcheon, 31, a Dayton resident.
McCutcheon’s life of pregnancy began at the age of 19.
As a young girl and recent high school graduate, McCutcheon’s desire was not to get pregnant right after high school. She planned to start a career and develop herself as a woman. By the age of 18, she could afford to live in her own apartment by the wages and tips she earned at a bookstore in Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio, and fixing hair for local clients.
McCutcheon was very ambitious and disciplined at a young age -- she believed if she worked hard, she could earn the things she wanted in life. Her passion to succeed guided her in the decision to further her education by enrolling in college. Her boyfriend, who lived in Alabama at the time, also encouraged her in this endeavor. He was already a student at Alabama A&M University in Normal, Alabama and she would join him as soon as her apartment lease expired.
But then her life took an unexpected turn.
“I found out I was pregnant and my life completely changed within two weeks,” McCutcheon said.
Now that she was pregnant, she would not be able to move to Alabaman for school or have any new and exciting experiences that she had been looking forward to. Instead, her life would revolve around her child and preparing to be a parent. At this point in her life, all her plans failed.
Having put in her two week’s notice prior to knowing she was pregnant, she was left without a place to stay or a job. Her life was stripped from her -- she was now faced with the sudden disappointment of starting over.
“I was completely devastated,” said McCutcheon.
Before pregnancy, McCutcheon did not receive financial assistance from the government or either of her parents. Her mother was preoccupied catering to the various men who would come in and out of her life, and her dad was incarcerated. There were times when she wished that her parents would protect and provide for her, but instead she was met with more requests.
McCutcheon was viewed as a benefactor for her family, including her mother.
There was a time when her mother was leaving a bad relationship and needed to move in with her to get back on her feet. With open arms she received her mother into her home, which already housed her sister and brother. Many days she felt as if she was the parent and her mother was her child -- someone she had to look after, as she did for her siblings.
Almost a year later, McCutcheon’s pregnancy forced the tables to turn and she was now at the mercy of her mother and her mother’s boyfriend to take her in.
“I went from feeling like an adult to feeling like a child who was getting ready to birth a child,” she said.
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Unexpected Pregnancy and Mental Health
Dealing with the swift transition was a daily mental battle for her.
Some days she said she was extremely disappointed with herself for being irresponsible, and even saw the baby as a punishment rather than a blessing. Sometimes the disappointment would whisk her into a depressed state as she reminisced about the times when she had complete freedom. It felt like a dream that quickly turned into a nightmare that she couldn’t just simply awake from.
This was her new reality.
In contrast, some days she imagined how beautiful it would be to have someone who looks up to her, someone she could care for.
“I wanted a girl, a mini-me,” McCutcheon said.
As the weeks went by, her desire grew stronger and stronger to birth what she was hoping to be a beautiful girl to whom she would give all her love. As she counted down the weeks and days leading to her delivery, she became more excited, and the feelings of depression ceased.
She finally accepted and embraced the idea of motherhood.
Yet, at the age of 19, McCutcheon was still discovering how her life was taking shape with hardly a clue of how to prepare for the little life that was growing inside her.
Elizabeth’s New Life Center
Hearing about Elizabeth’s New Life Center and the services they provide for mothers, she turned to them for assistance.
The Elizabeth’s New Life Center, which has six women’s centers in the region, welcomes all expectant mothers, regardless of race or socioeconomic status, who are in need of guidance in their decision to keep or abort their baby. They help women make an informed choice by educating them on their options and providing them with multiple resources. These sources include: pregnancy tests, ultrasounds, mentoring programs, and boutiques where they are provided with the essentials needed to care for their newborn baby.
“At the Elizabeth’s New Life Center we serve the whole woman and provide as much support to her right where she is, free of charge,” Director Meg Carnahan, 36, said of the centers, which are located in Dayton, Sidney, Kettering, Sharonville and Lebanon.
“Most of the women we serve are between the ages of 15 and 24 and most of the time the father of the child is not present,” Carnahan said.
McCutcheon, like the majority of women served by the center, was not accompanied by the father of her child, but she didn’t feel like just another number in the system. She remembered being welcomed into a warm environment greeted by people who were eager to help meet her needs.
But those bubbly feelings of joy would soon turn into feelings of terror. While performing her ultrasound, something went terribly wrong.
“They said they couldn’t find a heartbeat and I needed to go to the hospital right away,”she said.
The Miscarriage
Eyes filled with tears, McCutcheon rushed out of the Elizabeth’s Center en route to the Miami Valley Hospital where she learned she miscarried nine weeks and four days into her pregnancy.
When McCutcheon first learned of her pregnancy, she applied for and received Medicaid. The insurance would cover the expenses of a delivery, not a D&C (dilation and curettage -- surgical removal of the remains of a fetus) of which she was administered.
McCutcheon was left not only heartbroken over the death of a baby she finally accepted, but was also given a $13,000.00 debt to pay for the emergency surgery to remove its remains.
“I broke down in the hospital and stayed in bed for like three days; I didn’t even have an appetite,” she said.
At this point, she felt all hope was lost. But she didn’t realize until grief had passed, that she had another opportunity to get her life on track and work toward building a career again.
McCutcheon decided that she was going to find new opportunities to rebuild her life again.
Months after the tragedy, working as a home health aid at a health care agency, she saved enough money and gained the confidence to leave her mother’s place and move into her own apartment. Although burdened with a heavy financial load, and dozens of fears -- this was an opportunity for a fresh start for McCutcheon.
“I knew I never wanted to be a slave to the system so I had to work harder,” she said.
Breaking The Cycle of Neglect
Twelve years later as a 31-year-old mother of two boys, ages 9 and 7, McCutcheon has not received any financial assistance from the government except Medicaid for the past two years. She and her boys have been living solely on income from her paycheck -- with occasional financial assistance from the fathers of her two sons.
“I have a full load, I don’t get breaks,” she said.
Living free of governmental assistance for the past two years hasn’t been easy for McCutcheon, especially with the lack of support she receives from the fathers of her children. Lost love and empty promises led her to the point of having to raise two boys alone.
Misjudging character and choosing partners who were not the best fit for her are mistakes she realizes can’t be erased, but she will not make her children suffer for it. She experienced first-hand how it feels to be neglected for poor choices made by her mother and father and she never wanted her sons to feel that they weren’t her priority. When her mother would constantly make her boyfriends a priority over her, it would make her insecure.
She would question, “Why am I not good enough; why is he better than me?”
These memories, although not pleasant, have produced a level of determination not to repeat the cycle of neglect. As she grew older, she discovered that her mother was neglected by her mom. The man she desired caused her to be so distracted that she couldn’t raise her own daughter. As a result, McCutcheon’s great-grandmother was left with the responsibility of raising her mother.
“I felt that I could be a better mother,” McCutcheon said.
With this motivation, her children have become her main priority.
“They’re not without, I feel like I’m without,” she said.
Due to the lack of support she receives from her eldest son’s father, who hasn’t given her financial assistance since he was born 9 years ago, and her youngest son’s father who has never been consistent in paying child support, all the weight is on her shoulders.
“Honestly, I don’t remember life before my children,” she said.
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