Exploring the lives of young mothers and the sacrifices they make
How celebrity pregnancies like Kylie Jenner’s distort the narrative of motherhood
October 3, 2017
Kylie Jenner’s rumored pregnancy news with Travis Scott nearly broke the internet two weeks ago.
Jenner’s going to have it easy. She has a plethora of money and the father of the baby, Travis Scott, will more than likely stay in their lives with even more money. Jenner is joining the ranks of young mothers, but she is very different than the majority of girls who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant early in life.
Let’s look into this. Will she actually face any of the problems that come with taking care of a child at the age of 20? More than likely not.
If you are a young mother and are not a wealthy makeup mogul with a constant influx of cash and fame, you will likely be shunned, told you are too young to take care of a child, too immature.
Now that we’ve established all of the privileges that Jenner will enjoy, let’s take a step back and look at a more likely scenario.
According to Teen Pregnancy Statistics, more than half of teen pregnancies occur in older teens, aged 18 or 19.
You are 19 years old and you text your best friend that you may be pregnant, and you don’t know what to do. After a while, you decide to keep the baby.
At this point, you think everything will be fine when that baby boy is born until you find out your son’s father will not be participating in his life.
You will also find out that your son’s father will not tell people that he has a son, leaving you completely alone. You only have a few people to turn to because some people decide to go behind your back during your pregnancy.
You work your butt off for your son yet it never seems to be enough. You struggle and worry.
This isn’t just a scenario created for the purpose of this article, it’s someone’s reality.
My best friend is a great mother at the age of 20 with an eight-month-old baby who is learning to crawl. She loves him and would die for her son. The father of her son has seen him only a handful of times and only pays child support.
I know how hard it is on her and always wish I could give her money and a break.
My best friend believes that being a young mother is the biggest blessing in the world and that she gets to experience more with him and, according to Healthy Futures, she’ll have the ability to relate to her child better.
Even though I am not a mother and don’t plan on being one for a long time, I know the happiness my best friend feels every time she comes home after a long day at work and sees her son.
Since she is also a single parent, she knows that once she gets home, she has someone to snuggle up with and love.
I know that I can’t fully relate to my best friend, but I can understand enough about what she has been going through for the past year or so.
I am an advocate of all young mothers who are struggling. I am also very proud of my best friend for all she has accomplished, despite not having all the amenities that the rich and famous enjoy.
As for Jenner, we all know she will have a great life, and hopefully she will love the child as much as any other mother would and, hopefully, Travis Scott will stay in her life as well as the baby’s life too. But money? No need to worry about that because they have plenty.