Young Mother balancing College and Parenting

Courtney Webb was expected to graduate in May of 2011 from Oklahoma State University, just like the rest of her class.
But unlike her peers, her college years were not spent just worrying about grades, looking for a job and making lasting memories with friends. Webb had to take an extra year to graduate and spent the majority of her junior and senior years taking care of her now-20-month-year-old son, Caden.
“Being a young mother forces you to grow up and mature and to see how the real world is instead of seeing it through the eyes of a naive college student,” Webb said. “You have to be a mother, student, daughter, twenty-four seven.”
Each year, 10% of college-age women become pregnant, according to Planned Parenthood’s research organization, the Guttmacher Institute. Women 18 to 24 accounted for 44.4% of all abortions in 2008, and 74% of women who have abortions say that having a baby would interfere with work, school or other responsibilities.
Against the odds and the stereotypes of being a young mother, Webb went on to graduate with her bachelor’s degree in history this past May. Despite Webb’s recent graduation success, she still faces the stigmas of being a young mother.

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