Julia is a great mom. She is 19 and has a very active two-and-a-half year old son, Aiden. They are both my patients in our Teen Parenting Program. Despite having had Aiden in the 11th grade, Julia was able to graduate from high school and was able to enroll in a community college where she is doing well. She uses oral contraceptives but with the many things she has to juggle in her life, she frequently forgets to take the pill.

She has a great and supportive boyfriend but they struggle to make ends meet, secure their future, and provide for Aiden. After discussing her options for contraception, she decided on Nexplanon, a method she would not have to remember to take every day and would last three years, which would be enough time for her to finish college, find a stable job, and for Aiden to start elementary school.

The day of the procedure arrived and Julia came in, however her pregnancy test was positive. She cried and said, “I can’t afford to have another baby right now. I had horrible morning sickness with Aiden. If that happens again, I would have to drop out. I just paid tuition for this semester. What do I do?” I was fortunately able to let her know that she had options and that I would support her through whatever decision she made. I assured her that our front desk staff would help her get insurance coverage through state funding that would pay for a procedure.

Julia decided to terminate her pregnancy, and have a Nexplanon placed at the time of termination. She came in to see me for her post-abortion follow-up, and she was doing well, as expected. She let me know she was happy to have her Nexplanon, the school semester was going great, and that she had an appointment later in the month for Aiden to get his flu shot.