An 18-year-old who is six months pregnant has hit out at critics who say her stomach is too flat at this stage of her pregnancy.
“My baby is growing the perfect amount every month as it’s measured, just like everyone else’s, so it’s absolutely nothing to do with mine or the baby’s health,” Reanna Stephenson told the Daily Mail.
“I have compared my bump over my pregnancy to people on different parent pages on Facebook, and it’s not as big as other people’s,” she said. “But I love my small bump, it’s not big but I think it’s perfect in its own way and it’s my body and my bump, no one else’s.”
Mother-to-be shows off her flat stomach six MONTHS into her pregnancy in extraordinary snaps https://t.co/0x9szNLA58
— Daily Mail US (@DailyMail) January 3, 2018
Stephenson told the Mirror that she even gets dirty looks while walking down the street since revealing that she’s expecting.
“I have had people stopping me in the street and giving me nasty looks. It’s heart-breaking that instead of getting the ‘aw, look at your bump!’ I just get people being rude to me as soon as they realize how far gone I am,” she said.
“People have asked me, ‘You’re not faking your pregnancy are you?’ [and] ‘are you sure your baby is healthy?’ as well as people telling me I need to eat more and see a doctor in case I starve my child.”
The teenager credits her regular exercise and a vegan diet for her smaller-than-usual baby bump.
“I have done mixed martial arts for six years, including boxing, kickboxing, jujitsu, circuit training and weight training along with yoga and cardio. Now I only do yoga and cardio, but this is part of the reason for my slender physique,” she told the Sun.
“I also eat a vegan diet, so I don’t have any animal products, and avoid unhealthy foods such as fizzy drink, sweets and junk food.”
Teen Goes Viral After Finishing Her College Finals While in Labor
A Missouri teenager has set the internet on fire by tweeting a photo of herself finish a college final on a laptop in a birthing room bed.
Nayzia Thomas is a sophomore at Johnson County Community College in Kansas City. She is aiming for a degree in psychology while working three jobs and decided that a pregnancy won’t slow her down.
Thomas planned to wrap up the semester and give birth shortly after her finals but went into labor early when she was 39 weeks pregnant. So she went into the hospital with a laptop and textbook in tow.
“It wasn’t due until the end of the week—finals week is Dec. 11 to tomorrow—but my goal was to try to have everything done before,” Thomas told Yahoo Lifestyle. “I thought before all this gets crazy let me hurry up and finish this final.”
my mom took this pic & it’s the perfect explanation of my life. yes i’m about to have a baby, but final SZN ain’t over yet ???????? pic.twitter.com/7LyrDBE9iN
— Nayzia’ (@naydxll) December 12, 2017
While in labor, Thomas completed her final on dissociative identity disorder. She gave birth to her son on Dec. 12, 2017. Thomas had major blood loss after giving birth.
“It was very scary, but his father was right there to take over when I went unconscious,” Thomas wrote in a tweet. “We are blessed! AND I’m finishing the semester w/ a 3.5 GPA!”
Thomas told Yahoo that her mom snapped the picture because it defines who she is.
“School is so important to me,” she said. “I didn’t want the pregnancy to be in the way. That’s what people expect. You’re a teen mom, you’re a young mother. That’s why my mom took that picture. It shows I follow through.”
update: on 12/12/17 we had a healthy baby boy. However, I experienced major blood loss & my body went into shock post-delivery. It was very scary, but his father was right there to take over when I went unconscious. We are blessed! AND I’m finishing the semester w/ a 3.5 GPA!???????? pic.twitter.com/CLFGjf3hLD
— Nayzia’ (@naydxll) December 14, 2017
The young mom didn’t expect for her photo to go viral, but it was liked by almost 130,000 people and retweeted by 27,000 people in four days.
According to the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, 47 percent of black women are raising children while in school, making Thomas’s photo hit close to home for many moms and moms-to-be.
Thomas had to get a blood transfusion due to loss of blood and went home on Friday.
“Thanks to everyone again for the positivity and love,” she wrote on Twitter. “Its been hard trying to cope with being so close to death, but I can’t thank God enough for being able to share my story!”
Last update: got a blood transfusion b/c of all the blood loss & we finally headed home today! Thanks to everyone again for the positivity and love. Its been hard trying to cope with being so close to death, but I can’t thank God enough for being able to share my story!! ???????????? pic.twitter.com/OS3ltMocHT
— Nayzia’ (@naydxll) December 16, 2017
Epoch Times reporter Ivan Pentchoukov contributed to this report.
