This may just be the most incredible birth story of the year. A California teenager named Xochitl Parra concealed her pregnancy from everyone for nine months, gave birth alone in her parents' bathroom, then took the baby (still attached by the umbilical cord!) and jogged over to the hospital to get post-natal care. According to the Press-Telegram, the director of the hospital's NICU said: "This is a heartwarming story, especially when a teenager does the right thing. We hear so much negative with teenagers throwing their babies in the dumpsters. This baby is fine and hopefully there will be a happy ending with the extended family."
The article claims that the story does indeed have a happy ending: mother and baby are fine, and the girl's parents didn't kick them out of the house. In fact, grandma's going to help take care of the baby so Xochitl can finish high school.
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
1. Respectfully she did the right thing, endangering herself and the baby giving birth alone, in an incredibly non-sterile area...
Let us not forget that she got pregnant too young in the first place. I'm sick of people talking about teenage pregnancy like it's OKAY.
Strados at 11:34AM on May 5th 2008
2. I know that post was in English.....but I'm not sure I have any idea what they're trying to say
Strados at 11:46AM on May 5th 2008
3. Aw come on! You're not ALL idiots are you?
It doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter....
You're all bickering while Mr. Al Gore is Melting the Ozone Layer with Green Houses and Carbon Offsets! If we don't wake up soon, gas will be $8.50/gal and the price of corn will make bread cost more than electricity! You don't want to drive by candlelight and grow your own milk do you?!!! Th1nkF1rst@aim.com
Th1nkF1rst at 11:59AM on May 5th 2008
4. Question: How disfunctional does a family have to be before a teenage girl living at home can get pregnant, carry full-term, deliver then, run to the hospital for post-natal care??
I'm glad her parents didn't kick her out and that 'Grandma' is willing to care for the baby but, I just hope that it isn't driven by guilt for having been a neglectful parent the first time around. God Bless them all!!
Keith J. Mohrhoff at 12:51PM on May 5th 2008
5. I am just baffled by the use of the adjective "heartwarming" to describe this story. Implausable, maybe. Ridiculous, definitely. But heartwarming? What about a teenager carrying a baby for 9 months, obviously NOT getting proper medical attention for herself or her child, and lying to her family. Abortion is such hated and criticized procedure but a teen doing this and running to the hospital with a baby practically dangling out of her is "heartwarming"??
Al P at 3:18PM on May 5th 2008
6. YAY natural birth! A woman's body is amazing and her ability to birth naturally and then go for a run shows the incredible negative effects of all the drugs in medicalized birth. I'm sad she didn't feel like she could tell anyone about her situation but good for her for having an unassisted natural birth. We should all be so lucky.
angela lauria at 3:35PM on May 5th 2008
7. As a mother, this story is heartwarming. I always hear these stories about women as well as teenage girls murdering their babies. To read a story like this where the mother took the baby for care is indeed a breath of fresh air. I don't think the circumstances were wonderful, but the outcome was. I guarantee the girl was scared throughout her pregnancy and did not know what to do. I was a grown woman and married when I got pregnant and was terrified. I could not imagine going through everything alone the way that she did.
D at 3:40PM on May 5th 2008
8. STOPSLEEPING AROUND TEENAGERS AND READ A BOOK INSTEAD OF OPENING YOUR LEGS TO EVERYONE U C
TTLOVE at 5:27PM on May 5th 2008
9. OMG??? like remember when UR mom was born??? mine was born in the subs deliver by the partera(midwife) no college degree,no steril room, only hot water, knife, towels... hummmm she is 73 today and my granma had 12 kids that way they all healty too.....modern society drills u to think the hospital and the doctor know the right thing to do... and so do their malpractice lawyers!!!
alexa at 6:25PM on May 5th 2008
10. This is definitely better news than the story I read on http://detentionslip.org about the Texas teen who tried to flush her newborn down a toilet during school.
sweetchuckd at 7:22PM on May 5th 2008
11. I hardly think this girl has ever jogged a day in her life!!!
Frank at 2:20PM on May 6th 2008
12. Overall, not heartwarming. Sad that neither he nor she exercised self control and abstained or used birth control. Sad that she didn't accept responsibilty and tell her parents. Sad that her parents didn't establish an environment where she could feel safe to express her feelings. Sad that she refused to ask for help even after she gave birth. Glad the mother and child made it safely to the hospital because LUCKILY it was only two blocks away, otherwise her refusal to ask for help and her decision to act on her own and walk would almost certainly have been fatal for one if not both. Glad grandma is around to help out, but sad to see mother and father shirk their responsiblity.
# at 2:22PM on May 6th 2008
13. Teen pregnancy is higher in the US than any other developed country because we have no system in place to educate adolescents about contraception. In fact abstince-only sex education is the predominate form of sex ed in our schools today. Anyone who thinks they can create a program that will stop teens from having sex is completely insane. Our society needs to teach adolescents about contraception so that those young people who do chose to engage in sex have the knowledge and tools to protect themselves.
Th1nkF1rst- um...how do you propose we "grow" our milk. Are there seeds you can plant in a garden that produce milk? Hmm....All of my agriculture background, and I have never heard of this miracle. If you can develop these seeds, clearly technology could repair the ozone layer that Al Gore is single handedly destroying. And correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm pretty sure driving by candlelight instead of headlights wouldn't save you any gas or energy- maybe you should go back to science class.
Stephanie at 5:37PM on May 6th 2008