Lila had been feeling uneasy for weeks. Her stomach was bloated, and she had a constant feeling of nausea. She finally decided to visit the doctor. After a few tests, the doctor asked her to get an ultrasound. Lila’s heart raced as she watched the screen while the technician performed the scan. Suddenly, the technician’s expression changed, and she called for the doctor. Lila’s heart pounded in her chest while she waited for the technician to return. She feared for her health and wondered what could be so wrong that she had to get a doctor. Lila waited anxiously, feeling a sense of dread creeping over her. She tried to distract herself by looking around the room. Finally, the technician returned with the doctor. She showed him the screen while turning it away from Lila. The doctor looked serious, and after looking at the screen for a while, he simply nodded at the technician, who hurriedly left the room. Lila frowned. What the heck was going on? Lila wiped the leftover gel off her stomach and sat up straight. She got dressed and wanted to walk out of the room, but the doctor stopped her. “I’m sorry, Lila, but you can’t leave. We’ve called the police….”  But why was Lila in so much pain? Why was the doctor so secretive? And why did they call the police? Lila (17) had been feeling uneasy for weeks. Her stomach was bloated, and she had a constant feeling of nausea. She desperately tried to ignore it at first, thinking it was just a stomach bug, but when the symptoms persisted, she started to worry that something was seriously wrong with her. One day, while sitting in class, Lila felt a sharp pain in her lower abdomen. It was so sudden and intense that she doubled over in pain. Her classmates looked concerned and asked if she needed help. Lila was too embarrassed to say anything and quickly composed herself, telling them it was just a cramp After class, Lila decided to visit the doctor. She had never been to the doctor alone before and was a little nervous. She tried to shake off her nerves and focus on getting the help she needed. When she arrived at the clinic, she checked in and sat down to wait her turn. The waiting room was full of different kinds of people, and Lila felt self-conscious. She wondered if anyone could tell that she was sick. As she waited, she started to feel more and more anxious. She couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was wrong with her and felt very alone.  Finally, it was Lila’s turn to see the doctor. She was escorted to a small room and asked to sit on the exam table. A female doctor entered the room shortly after and asked her what was wrong. Lila hesitated at first but eventually told the doctor about her symptoms. The doctor listened attentively and wrote everything down. She really made Lila feel at ease and taken seriously. Then, the doctor asked her if she could do a physical. Lila wasn’t sure at first, but after another painful cramp, she agreed. So, the doctor performed the exam and asked her a few more questions. One of the questions was about Lila’s sex life. Lila was almost too embarrassed to tell, but she had a loving boyfriend, and they always used protection. She was certain this couldn’t be a pregnancy, as she also had an IUD. The doctor agreed and told her to get an ultrasound at the hospital as soon as possible.  Lila was a bit shocked by the referral. She had hoped to be done after one day, but now she had to find a way to skip school without them notifying her parents. Lila left the clinic feeling overwhelmed and scared. She had never been to a hospital alone before, and the thought of it made her anxious. She knew her mother and father would both be working the next day, so she decided to call in sick for school. Usually, her mother had to call the school, but Lila had no other choice. It was very unlike her, but she had to pretend to be her mother.  Lila always left the house before her parents, and because she didn’t want them to suspect anything, she did the same today. But instead of going to school, she hid in the garden shed. There it was quiet enough for her to call the school and tell them she couldn’t go today. To Lila’s surprise, it worked, and as soon as her parents left for work, Lila stepped out of the shed and headed to the hospital. It was a short bus ride, but it felt like an eternity. Lila’s heart pounded in her chest when it was time for her to get out, and she slowly walked to the entrance.  When she arrived at the hospital, Lila checked in and sat down to wait for her turn. She was surrounded by people with all sorts of ailments, and she felt even more nervous. She kept checking the time, hoping that her turn would come soon. But the wait was longer than she had hoped.  The waiting room was filled with uneasy people and crying children. After waiting for thirty minutes, Lila walked over to the receptionist. She asked if her turn was almost coming up, but the receptionist couldn’t give her the specific time that a doctor would come. This only made her more nervous.  Finally, Lila was called in for her ultrasound. The technician was kind and made her feel comfortable. She explained the procedure and what to expect. The technician placed a cold gel on Lila’s stomach and began to move a wand over it. Lila watched the monitor intently, hoping to see something reassuring. Lila had no idea what she was looking at. She only had an ultrasound once before at the gynecologist before they placed her IUD, but this ultrasound was different. She looked at the technician, but her facial expression gave nothing away. The pain was less prominent by now, and Lila hoped it would all be over soon.  However, the technician’s expression became more and more serious as she conducted the ultrasound. Lila’s heart sank. Deep down, she knew something was wrong. But before she could ask what was going on, the technician told her to wait while she consulted with the doctor, leaving Lila all alone in the room. Lila waited anxiously, feeling a sense of dread creeping over her. She tried to distract herself by looking around the room. It had different kinds of posters and flyers on the walls, but her eyes kept returning to the door. Then, finally, the doctor entered the room, and Lila braced herself for the worst. The technician followed close behind the doctor and showed him what she had seen, turning the screen away from Lila. The doctor looked serious, and they talked about several things Lila didn’t understand. Finally, the doctor turned to Lila. “Lila, do you have somebody we could call? Your parents, maybe?”  Lila was shocked. Why would they call someone for her? What was going on? The doctor could see she was scared and reassured her everything was fine. They just wanted to talk to her parents because of her young age. But Lila refused. She told them they could discuss everything directly with her.  The doctor looked at the technician and simply nodded his head. After that, the technician left the room in a hurry. Lila wondered what that was about, and she desperately wanted to get up and leave, but she still had gel on her stomach that needed to be wiped off. Lila had a horrible feeling in her stomach. There was something else going on that they weren’t telling her about. Why else would they want to call her parents? She grabbed a tissue and cleaned the gel off her stomach. The doctor noticed and assisted her. After that, she got dressed and wanted to leave the room. The doctor shook his head and told her she couldn’t leave just yet. He asked if she could wait there for a while and he would come back soon to discuss the results. Lila didn’t like this, but she agreed to stay and wait. She needed to know what was going on anyway. When the doctor came back, he had shocking news for Lila. He told her she would have to wait for a bit longer, because they had called the police. Lila couldn’t believe it. Tears gathered in her eyes, and she felt like she wanted to scream.  She felt so alone and helpless. She just wanted to leave this place and go home! She asked the doctor what the heck was going on one last time, and demanded an explanation. What was happening to her and why did they need to involve the police? The doctor knew that Lila needed to hear the truth sooner or later, and she deserved to know what was going on with her body, so he decided to just tell her. When Lila heard the words coming out of his mouth, she froze in shock. “That’s… impossible!”, she exclaimed. She knew it could not be real. The doctor told Lila she was pregnant. And because they couldn’t contact her parents and Lila was so young, they had to call the police. But, Lila told the doctor she couldn’t be pregnant because she had an IUD, and it must all be a huge misunderstanding. However, it was definitely no misunderstanding. The doctor and the technician had clearly seen the baby on the ultrasound and they were one hundred percent sure of it: Lila was pregnant. When they showed her the scan, Lila felt like she was going to faint. How could this be happening?! The doctor explained that her IUD had dropped and because of that, it wasn’t working properly anymore. It had stopped working a while ago, actually – Lila was 10 weeks pregnant… She was still shocked, but the proof was there. She had to just accept it now. By the time the police arrived, Lila had already called her boyfriend, Jonas. He had immediately come to see her and he wanted to be there for her. Lila was scared of what was going to happen next, and having him by her side did make things a bit easier. When the police arrived, they just wanted to ask her some questions. Once they were sure that she and Jonas had a consensual relationship and she was safe, they offered them a ride back to Lila’s house. Lila had to mentally prepare herself for the conversation she was going to have with her parents. Once they arrived at Lila’s house, she was just about to open the front door when her parents opened it instead. They had seen the police car in front of the house and they wanted to see why it was there. When they realized that Lila and Jonas had just stepped out of that same car, they gasped. “Darling, are you okay? What happened?!”, her parents asked. Lila told them that everything was fine and they shouldn’t worry. But, of course, they worried. Lila explained that she was okay, but they just needed to talk about something… Something that would change their lives forever. The four of them sat down at the kitchen table and everybody waited in silence for Lila to say something. She was very nervous because she didn’t know how her parents would react to the big news. She loved them and they had a good relationship, but they could be a little strict sometimes. She was afraid of what was going to happen next, but she knew that she needed to tell them. She took a few deep breaths and held Jonas’ hand tight to comfort herself. Her eyes were filled with tears and she looked at her parents, ready to tell the truth. “Mom, dad… There’s something important I have to tell you.” They looked at her with a worried look on their face and nodded, as if to encourage her to continue speaking and tell them what she needed to get off her chest. She knew that she had to do it now – there was no way back anymore She looked down at her stomach and put a hand on it, imagining the little baby that was growing inside of her. “I’m pregnant…”, she whispered. At first, her parents thought they misheard what she said. But when she looked them in the eyes, it became clear that they had heard her correctly. Everybody was silent for a couple of seconds. It was dead quiet in the room and Lila held her breath as she awaited her parents’ reaction. She didn’t know what to expect, but never in a hundred years could she have imagined they would react the way they did… They both looked at her with wide eyes, shocked and concerned. Lila held her head down and was already preparing herself for the lecture they would give her, but then, something unexpected happened. Jonas put his hand on her shoulder and she looked back up again, and saw that her parents’ expressions had changed. Their faces were filled with joy, happiness and excitement. They smiled and extended their arms toward her, hugging her as tightly as they could. Their voices were filled with genuine happiness and both of them had started crying. Lila felt relieved – she had never expected them to react this way. Then, her parents asked her a question that made her think. Was she going to keep the baby? She looked at Jonas and said she still had to make a decision. Her parents told her that no matter what she would choose in the end, they would support her. Lila was so happy that her parents were so sweet about it, she could cry! They spent the rest of the evening looking at Lila’s old baby pictures, reminiscing about good old times. It was an emotional day and by the end of it, Lila was exhausted. She decided that she was going to talk to Jonas the next day – she wanted to make a decision together with him. The more she thought about it, the more she realized she actually wanted to keep the baby. She knew that she was still very young, but she was slowly falling in love with the little life growing inside of her. And now that she knew her parents were so supportive, she knew she could count on them for help. And Lila was also sure that she wanted to do this together with Jonas. He had always been supportive, but now Lila really knew that he would always be there for her, no matter what. He had been really helpful and comforting in the hospital, and she knew that he had her back. The next day, Jonas came over as planned and they talked in her room. Lila was a bit nervous to tell him that she was actually thinking about keeping the baby, but she wanted to be honest with him. In response, he just hugged her and told her he agreed. They were going to do this together! Jonas told her he was sure of it that they would do a great job together at raising their baby, and this only confirmed Lila’s thoughts. She was relieved to see that they were on the same page and they decided to tell her parents straight away.  Lila’s parents were over the moon. They were so excited to finally become grandparents! They hadn’t expected it to happen this soon, but they were totally ready for it. They promised Lila and Jonas that they would be there for them during every step of the pregnancy, and that they could always come to them for advice. Over the next few months, Lila’s relationship with Jonas, as well as her parents, significantly improved. She had a couple of interesting and deep conversations with her parents, and she got to know them a lot better. She was so thankful to have them by their side during her pregnancy. Lila and Jonas decided that they didn’t want to know the baby’s gender until it was born. They agreed that since the pregnancy itself had come as such a surprise, they wanted to keep the baby’s gender a surprise as well. In the meantime, Lila’s stomach was growing like crazy. As her due date was coming closer, Lila was getting increasingly nervous. She had obviously never done any of this before, and she could only think about all the dramatic births she had seen on television. She was a little scared, but she trusted that everything would be okay. She noticed how her body changed and she became more and more aware of the baby growing inside her stomach. She was looking forward to finally meeting her beautiful daughter or son, and she felt more ready for it each day. There were only a few more weeks left until the big day…  Lila took birthing classes together with Jonas, made a birth plan, practiced relaxation techniques and prepared herself in a way that felt right for her. All this helped her to relax and get ready for what was going to be one of the most special days in her life so far. A few days before her due date, Lila was watching tv at home when suddenly, she felt a sharp pain in her stomach. She was immediately worried – she had felt cramps before, but this was a different kind of pain. It was much worse! What was going on?! She was home alone – her parents were at work and Jonas was in school. She called her mom, panicking, and her mom immediately came home. As Lila stood up to grab a glass of water, she felt another cramp in her stomach. It was so painful that she dropped the glass of water and spilled it all over the floor. She groaned, annoyed that she had to clean up the water while she was in so much pain, but then she froze. She looked at the glass on the kitchen counter, and she saw that it was still full! She gasped and looked down at her feet in a puddle of water on the floor, completely shocked. This could only mean one thing. Her water had broken! Her mom arrived just at the right time and drove her to the hospital immediately, and Jonas and her dad also came as soon as they could. By the time they arrived, she had gone into active labor. She was a little scared, but she knew she was in good hands. She was in a lot of pain and it was only getting worse, but she was relieved to have Jonas by her side. And she knew her parents were waiting outside and if she wanted to see them, she could. All this helped her relax a bit, and she felt ready for what was about to come next. As time passed, everything became a blur. The pain was horrible and nurses were walking in and out of the room. Suddenly, a doctor came in and told Lila she could get ready to push now. Lila knew that this was it – the moment had come! She gave it all she had in her and pushed as hard as she could. It felt endless and she felt like she had no strength left inside her body, when suddenly, she heard something. It was a very special sound and she had not expected to hear it this soon. Lila looked at the doctor, and she saw that he was holding a baby. Her baby! It was crying and after a few moments, the doctor gave it to Lila. She saw that it was a beautiful girl and she and Jonas decided to name her Sarah. Sarah was a strong and healthy baby and she could go home the same day. Lila was very tired, but once she got home, she could rest and take all the time she needed. She recovered quickly and she and Jonas got to know their little daughter a bit better every day. Even though Lila and Jonas were so young, they were great parents and their families were proud of them. They both finished school and got married, and a couple of years later, they expanded their family! They had another child, their son Steve, and they all lived a happy and healthy life.