For any of you who have been around since I was pregnant with my oldest son, you would know that my pregnancy was no walk in the park. From the very get go, I was in and out of the hospital repeatedly with dehydration, pre-term labor, kidney stones, and various other complications related to a cervical surgery I had in 2003 when I was 18 years old. Needless to say, my journey into motherhood, especially that pregnancy helped to re-shape my pro choice views.

As a teen, I talked with amazingly close family members about pregnancy before Roe V. Wade, teen mothers in my family who were whisked off to other states, married off, and forced to bear children that would have otherwise been unwanted.  The women I love and respect never pulled any punches with me. And it certainly helped to shape me into the most liberal pro choice woman I probably could be.  While others in my family had children and became pro life, or at least pro life for their selves, my views continues to become increasingly pro choice during each of my pregnancies, and birth experiences, especially with my oldest.

I want to explain my line of thinking further.

I believe in choices. Choices in childbirth, pregnancy, reproduction in general, parenting choices, lifestyle choices. Choice… all around choice.

My difficult pregnancy made me realize that women should never be forced into a choice, like pregnancy and childbirth, unless it is something they truly want, are prepared for, and consent to. On a sidenote, consenting to sex is not consenting to pregnancy. I cannot imagine being forced to go through the ups and downs, emotions, mood swings, physical changes, swollen ankles, aches and pains, contractions, birth, especially surgical birth, when a woman did not wish to be involved in any of it from the get go.

Not only could it be mentally damaging, it could shape her view of children in general for the rest of her life.

Of course women that make the rash decision to abort before she has fully examined all of her options, and made an informed choice could really feel the same way, but that is another post in itself. Because I care about all women, not just those who agree with me.

Moral of this story?  While I was pro choice before, I am even more pro choice now, as a mother, by choice, of two amazing little boys, and of course more children in the future by choice.

Shout out to all my pro choice moms!