My story is pretty boring. As I was starting to become sexually active, I knew how to prevent becoming pregnant and contracting STDs partly due to education I received in school and mostly from Planned Parenthood. I utilized Planned Parenthood as my resource for sex education and to obtain birth control without my parent’s health insurance due to not wanting to share that I was sexually active with them. Looking back I wonder if my parents would have cared or not, but it was a discussion I wanted to avoid in my high school and college years.

After getting graduating from college I had various jobs that included health insurance plans and went to a variety of clinics for women’s health care depending upon who was in my network. I continued using birth control, getting regular check ups, and tested for STDs as I had new partners through my mid thirties. After meeting the right person and falling in love, we got married. A year later, we decided to try having a child. I stopped using birth control and now have a sweet baby girl. She arrived to a house full of love. Due to being able to be in control of my body, I was able to bring a child into the world when my partner and I felt we both were ready financially and emotionally.