It’s no secret that South Africa continues to battle high rates of teenage pregnancy, making it crucial to address the issue responsibly.
Taking to her TikTok account, @seson.aa shared a video of herself pleading that mothers who had babies as teenagers should stop celebrating their wins and involving the fact that they had their kids at a younger age.
As a teen mom, she argued that this was the reason why teenagers do no take teenage pregnancy seriously,”We need to stop the habit of talking about how good life can get after teenage pregnancy.”
“Celebrating buying a car and having a successful life should not be aligned with having a child at a young age, this gives the children hope that even if they do have children life will eventually get better,” she added.
Getting into the conversation, she explained that no one is downplaying the hard work and efforts people put into everything they have achieved because of their perseverance.
She then got into the fact that people need to be honest and expose the raw side of teenage pregnancy,”No one talks about the alienation that happens after teenage pregnancy, the stagnancy and the friends you lose.”
Touching base on the adjustments that needs to be done. She also mentioned that it gets to a point where you have to date older men in life because men your age do not want to date you because you have a child.
She also adds that not only do you have to go through adjustments, but you also have to deal with judgement on a daily basis and the fact that you are likely to not be the person who will raise the child.
@seson.aa #xhosatiktok🇿🇦 #southafricatiktok #sesonavideos ♬ original sound – Sesona
The topic split her comment section into two as some people felt like she does not have a right to tell people how to live their lives.
Others were standing with her mentioning other obstacles people face after having kids at a young age.
“The freedom? Gone! You can’t even make selfish decisions in your 20’s because all your decisions impact your child one way or the other,” said another user.
One user wrote: “First time I hear someone who was a teen mom being honest and vulnerable about the experience. Not these lies of ‘there’s life after teenage pregnancy’.”
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