I had an unplanned pregnancy at 19

At 19, my biggest problems were exams, money and deciding whether replying "k" to a text meant they were angry or just tired.

I definitely wasn't planning a pregnancy.

Then I missed my period. 

At first, I wasn't worried. Periods can be late. Stress can do strange things. School can do strange things. Lagos can do strange things.

So I waited. Then I waited some more. And suddenly, every day felt like a countdown.

I bought a pregnancy test with the kind of stealth usually reserved for people buying something illegal.

The result was positive. I stared at it for so long that I started wondering if maybe it would change its mind. It didn't.

I was scared. Not because I didn't know what pregnancy meant. Because suddenly, the future I'd been casually imagining had become very real.

School. Money. Crying baby at midnight. No sleep. My parents’disappointed faces. Everything felt like one giant group project I had not agreed to join. Looking back, the hardest part wasn't only the pregnancy. It was realising I could have prevented it in so many ways if I knew about contraception.

I'd heard things from friends. I'd seen things online. I'd made assumptions.

But I hadn't really taken the time to understand my options or have an honest conversation with a healthcare professional. 

That experience changed the way I thought about sexual health. I stopped believing that knowing about contraception was something I'd "deal with later."

Later had arrived. And it was wearing a very serious face.

If you're sexually active and you're not ready for pregnancy, knowing your contraceptive options isn't about being paranoid. It's about being prepared.

Different methods work differently, and what's right for one person may not be right for another. That's why getting reliable information matters. 

You can explore different contraceptive options and learn more at yourlife.ng 

I wish I'd done that sooner. I wish I'd asked more questions instead of assuming I already knew enough. I wish I'd understood that making informed choices about my sexual health wasn't something to be embarrassed about.

Maybe I wouldn’t be up at 2am writing this, because my 1-year-old has reduced to fall asleep and I have zero idea on how to handle it.

At 19, I thought being responsible meant simply hoping everything would be fine. Now I know better.

Being responsible can also mean asking questions, knowing your options and making choices that fit the life you're trying to build.

I can't rewrite that chapter of my life. But I can make sure the next one is written with more information. And maybe that's what growing up really is. Not having all the answers. Just learning to ask better questions.

Your Life. Your Choice.

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