Wednesday, June 26, 2024 - A girl who became pregnant at the age of 13 has shared an update about her baby girl.
Juliette Ackerman, 14, from Dallas, Texas, found out she was pregnant in March 2023 at the age of 13.
Juliette, who uses the nickname Jules on her social media accounts, was embarrassed when she realised she was expecting a baby, and was confused if she should keep the baby, put her up for adoption or terminate the pregnancy.
According to Juliette, she couldn't go through with the abortion and so was forced to reveal her unexpected pregnancy to her mum Krista Boyd, 39.
'When she found out she was pregnant, Juliette told me a few days later and my initial reaction was that I didn't want her to come home,' Krista said.
But within a few minutes, I realised it wasn't the end of the world as something beautiful was going to come out of it and I ended up being supportive.
Talking about her teen-motherhood journey, Juliette explained: 'I was pregnant at the end of eighth grade, and it was so hard, kind of depressing and embarrassing.
'When I saw those two lines on the pregnancy test, I was horrified. I believed to my core that I could not get pregnant, and I was infertile.'
Since giving birth to her daughter, Violette Ackerman, six months ago, Juliette has been embracing her journey as a teen mum.
The 14-year-old took to her TikTok account to document her motherhood journey where she has faced criticism from several users who tell her she is too young to be a parent.
While Juliette does admit this is true, the teen said she has embraced motherhood despite feeling like she didn't 'have a motherly bone' in her body.
During Juliette's pregnancy, there were concerns that because of her young age and having a short cervix, she could suffer from hyperemesis gravidarum.
The condition can cause excessive vomiting which can lead to weight loss as well as prodromal labour which is a false labour contraction.
At 36 weeks, Juliette began experiencing bad contractions, forcing her to go into hospital where she was convinced she would give birth early.
Many hospital trips later, Juliette gave birth safely a day before her due date in December.
Since becoming a mum, Juliette has been making cash by doing people's nails, reselling her old clothes and babysitting.
Talking about the decision that changed her life, Juliette said: 'It wasn't a good decision to get pregnant at 14, but it was a good one to keep her for sure as she's perfect.
'Throughout my whole pregnancy I did feel very left out with most things. I would see my old friends going places for the summer and I couldn't even hang out with my friends. But eventually I learned to cope with it.'
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