LONG BEACH, California (AP) -- A 17-year-old girl gave birth secretly at home, then walked four blocks to a hospital with the baby still attached by its umbilical cord.

"I was just a little nervous" when the labor began, Xochitl Parra said Friday from St. Mary Medical Center as she cradled her 8-pound, 3-ounce son, Alejandro.

The boy was normal and "eating like a champ," said Dr. Jose Perez, director of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

The teenager said she was alone and taking a shower around 5:30 a.m. Wednesday to get ready for school. Then the contractions took over.

"I felt his head coming, so I sit down and pushed so he could come out," she said.

Parra did not call 911 because the home phone was disconnected, and she did not want to wake the neighbors because it was so early. Instead, she wrapped the baby, got dressed and went to the hospital on foot.

"I started walking and jogging to the hospital," she said.

The teen came into the hospital lobby and asked for help, Perez said.

"She still had the placenta and the baby was still attached, so of course everyone said, 'Don't move!' " he said.

Perez praised the girl for taking quick action.

"They could have bled to death; thank God that didn't happen," the doctor said. "She was very clever. She knew what to do. She wrapped the baby up and walked over here."

Parra, a sophomore at Long Beach Poly High, said she kept her pregnancy a secret because she was afraid her mother would "kick me out of the house." Her mother has now accepted the situation and is going to help the teen care for the baby so she can continue attending school, Parra said.

Perez called the outcome "heartwarming."

"We hear so much negative with teenagers throwing their babies in the Dumpsters," he said. "This baby is fine, and hopefully there will be a happy ending with the extended family."

http://edition.cnn.com/2008/US/05/04/teen.birth.ap/index.html

========

And where is the father?

Really! All that news coverage and no father!

The father can be anyone, doesn't matter.

Well ... atleast she didnt dump the baby in a bin or something ...

The father can be anyone, doesn't matter.

Sadly, I'd have to agree with this, except for the doesn't matter part.

In the department I am working now we also do DNA paternity testing and its sad to see the amount of people who enquire each day about getting tested.

I really feel sorry for the kids.

The important thing is that they're both ok..

And if hes some deadbeat, Shes better off raising him alone anyways ;p

like pen said, at least the baby wasnt dumped!
its sad how kids go n look for their fathers or real mothers, no security at all

damn i wonder how many illegal kids r there now adays !!

My God.. If I was in her shoe, and didn't know the father or the father has abandoned me I'd have an abortion..

Maybe it's easier to say since I've never been in her shoe..

Such a sad ! even though it doesn’t look like this to them :rolleyes:

Anyway, the good is that the mother and the baby are ok and at least she didn’t abandon the baby !

Such social problems will always be there, seriously we can’t do any about it unless people start using their minds which something you can’t force them to do

Moved from General Sabla

Another single mother, another bloody ba$tard on earth

^ Yeah that's another way of putting it.. HITMAN, keep up the nice comments :D

Another single mother, another bloody ba$tard on earth

And when he grows up he will take revenge from another girl and produce another ba$tard.

My god.

12 posts and no one has commented on the courage this girl had..

Giving birth is no joke. Doing it alone, for the first time IN A SHOWER is scary!

Walking at ALL after that is AMAZING!

Who cares about the father! The mother proved herself as a person worthy of having this child.

There are many 'married people' who are not worthy of having children, who abuse them and hurt them, abandon them and forget them.

Kudos to this young mother. Life will likely be hard for her.. but that's because she took the hard road instead of the easy road in a backstreet abortion clinic.

Her courage was driven by the shame.

^ Maybe I'll start appreciating giving birth and the courage she had when/if I go through it..

but that's because she took the hard road

She definitely opted for the "rock hard" road to fulfil her lust & was obviously careless as she didn't use contraceptive methods & gave birth to a ba$tard that will be bullied

I hope she learns a lesson from this experience & won't start hunting for the "hard" experiences again in the future

My god.

12 posts and no one has commented on the courage this girl had..

Giving birth is no joke. Doing it alone, for the first time IN A SHOWER is scary!

Walking at ALL after that is AMAZING!

Who cares about the father! The mother proved herself as a person worthy of having this child.

There are many 'married people' who are not worthy of having children, who abuse them and hurt them, abandon them and forget them.

Kudos to this young mother. Life will likely be hard for her.. but that's because she took the hard road instead of the easy road in a backstreet abortion clinic.


So she's not oppressed, Thalia ? At the time she needs her "husband" the most ?

So she's not oppressed, Thalia ? At the time she needs her "husband" the most ?
Well.. if the authorities arrested her, lashed her or stoned her... I'd say yeah.

But I guess the hospital gave her all the help she needed and her mother is suporting her.

I don't see any oppression. She even had the choice to remove the baby or give it up for adoption, and she didn't.

She's a brave girl.

Well.. if the authorities arrested her, lashed her or stoned her... I'd say yeah.

No. The society is brutal and inhuman towards her. I will never my sister or mother to be like this lady who was suffering with her baby stitched to her body !



She's a brave girl.

So Saudi women are.... brave too .. cos they are able to cope with the.. Right ?

Who cares about the father!

Yes who care, it something common in that part of the world.

a sad story but i have to give her credit she did it all own her own wow

As a single parent I find some of these comments appalling. No one knows how she became pregnant. At least she isn't thrown in jail or worse for what happened. At least we don't "hide" or keep things swept under the rug. Our societal ills are there and we have tons of agencies to assist people like her to get back on their feet. It is wrong to get pregnant and hide it like that but at least she won't lose her life over it. She can receive help, finish school and become a contributing member to society.

There are many assumptions about this girl going around by some of the comments made about her. Grow up.

But the cost of what she did is disturbing. Is it easy for 17 year-old to raise a kid ? She has no jobs yet and her husband has left her alone. When the kid grew up she had to bear the costs of nurseries and further education.

She should think from the beginning , so did her boyfriend. How ironic it is to say bravo to this girl and justify violence against her while accusing Saudi men as abusers and aggressors to their women.

I think the whole situation is sad. But it happened and she needs help. I for one do not care for teenage pregnancies and thankfully there are social services out there to help her. At least she will receive it and hopefully one day she will return the favor to society and be a working mother.

Oppression is found in many forms and sadly it seems allot of men in all socities all over the world tend to find a way to oppress women in some form or another.

another tit for tat thread. :rolleyes:

I think the whole situation is sad. But it happened and she needs help. I for one do not care for teenage pregnancies and thankfully there are social services out there to help her. At least she will receive it and hopefully one day she will return the favor to society and be a working mother.

What she actually needs is a man , a caring husband who can support her.

Oppression is found in many forms and sadly it seems men in all socities tend to find a way to oppress women in some for or another.

In all societies ?

Women do oppress men too. Especially women in Arab culture-- they have the main voice in the house..hehe

Well, I am a single mother and I don't have a man nor do I need one to make me feel like a whole person.

However, I think that the man in this article and I use the term loosely because all he was, was a sperm donor, needs to be held accountable and pay child support. For me a man who does not work and help pay for that child's upkeep needs to be thrown in jail if he refuses to get off his lazy *** and assist in helping to make some form of payment. Forcing them to get married won't solve the problem. Who knows what kind of character he has? But he has to be held accountable in some form and that would be money wise if he wants nothing to do with that child.

. For me a man who does not work and help pay for that child's upkeep needs to be thrown in jail if he refuses to get off his lazy *** and assist in helping to make some form of payment. Forcing them to get married won't solve the problem.

So what's the meaning of marriage ?

Who knows what kind of character he has? .

So why did the girl accept this man in the first hand ?

Again, we don't know the whole story behind the coupling of these two people. Making assumptions is wrong.

Not everyone wants to get married Tropikal Boy.

I already said it was a sad situation for this girl to find herself in and the boy because to me the sperm donor is a boy and not a man needs to own up to his responsibilities. If he doesn't want to be a part of this kid's life then he by God better be sending the mother some money to help support his son.

No. The society is brutal and inhuman towards her. I will never my sister or mother to be like this lady who was suffering with her baby stitched to her body !




So Saudi women are.... brave too .. cos they are able to cope with the.. Right ?
What the hell are you on about?
You're not even making sense.

rofl baby stitched to her body.
seems like tropikal needs a biology lesson.
trop, she gave birth but she hadn't had the afterbirth contraction, which pushes the placenta out and she didn't have a clue on how to cut the cord.

a sad story but i have to give her credit she did it all own her own wow
see .. there you go. The article isn't even about how she got pregnant or why the father isn't mentioned.

It's about the birth, about her courage and about how it all ended ok in the end.

*****

*****

she belongs to hell!!!

stone her to death

cut off her head

& hand the baby to the father

"Our women shall never go through that, because our system/religion/culture does not 'allow that' "

Gimme a break will yeh?

Back to topic:

The young mother will become successful in her life, with the support of her family

^^^^amen spirit.

May God bless her and her child and that she finds peace in the future.

Very clever for the girl ..

Well ... atleast she didnt dump the baby in a bin or something ...

Maybe she was trying but since she couldn't cut the nomial cord .. she decided to go to the hospital .. You never know .. maybe she did want it in the bin!
Why would a girl want a baby and she didn't tell her mother yet ?! .. because she probably had an idea to give it to someone or throw him!

?
So why did the girl accept this man in the first hand ?

Tropikal, you don't want us the explore the actual reasons of why a 17 years old girl with a libido of a female Gorilla goes to a man, do you?

She might herself not know who the father is, given the possibility she slept with so many to fulfil her desires

Unless you run a DNA test on all who screwed her, who would want to perform such costly tests

We don't know and maybe she was scared to tell anyone. All of you can sit on your high horse and judge. Honestly people. I had my daughter at 19 and I kept her. Not everyone out there throws their babies away. Not every woman who has a baby out of wedlock is a *****. You DON'T KNOW what happened to her. God!!!!!!!!

Tropikal, you don't want us the explore the actual reasons of why a 17 years old girl with a libido of a female Gorilla goes to a man, do you?

She might herself not know who the father is, given the possibility she slept with so many to fulfil her desires

Unless you run a DNA test on all who screwed her, who would want to perform such costly tests
that's rich coming from someone who puts a reference to his own sexual organ in almost every post he writes on here.

that's rich coming from someone who puts a reference to his own sexual organ in almost every post he writes on here.
It must be the sexual frustration .. or something..

why else would EVERYTHING have to have a sexual connotation?

You DON'T KNOW what happened to her. God!!!!!!!!

Oh my God, you are right, I'm soaked with my own tears now hearing of how much pain & suffering this "innocent" girl went through, boo hoo

So tell me please what could have happened to her?

I never presume anything and to do so is making us God instead of human. Even if she messed around with this sperm donor she is going to raise this child. If she was raped or mislead in any way who are we to judge? We don't know what happened.

As far as poking fun at other people's tribulations not cool.

I never presume anything and to do so is making us God instead of human. Even if she messed around with this sperm donor she is going to raise this child. If she was raped or mislead in any way who are we to judge? We don't know what happened.

As far as poking fun at other people's tribulations not cool.

She would be stupid.. idiot.. dumb and dumber to get raped and a month later knows that shes pregnant and not inform the authorities!

She clearly wasn't raped if her mum didn't know about her pregnancy ..

Actually there are women out there who have been raped and are too afraid to pursue the authorities for various reasons they can range from:

1. Afraid of the police
2. Afraid of the rapist coming after her and doing worse. (I worked with the Kentucky Police Dept while in college and read and saw far too many things that would cause people here to have their hair turn gray).
3. Afraid of what family might do.

(BTW all this is universal and can be found in all societies)

So it really is not that far fetched. Again, we don't know what happened but I would hope that this girl receives psychological counseling, continues with her education and becomes a productive member of society.

It is only human to sympathize with her I guess...I thank God everyday for being born a man and not having to experience giving birth first-hand!

But now that the baby's here, she's fine and living, the family's accepting her, I mean...That can't be the end right? There must be some Daddy in the picture. It's sad what happened to her of having to fall into such sin, having to go through such a frightening labor, it's very remarkable the way she dealt with it through the end but...It's sadder to think of a fatherless child too. A child who will never have a father not because his father is dead but because his father doesn't care.

I hope that is not the case.

It is only human to sympathize with her I guess...I thank God everyday for being born a man and not having to experience giving birth first-hand!

But now that the baby's here, she's fine and living, the family's accepting her, I mean...That can't be the end right? There must be some Daddy in the picture. It's sad what happened to her of having to fall into such sin, having to go through such a frightening labor, it's very remarkable the way she dealt with it through the end but...It's sadder to think of a fatherless child too. A child who will never have a father not because his father is dead but because his father doesn't care.

I hope that is not the case.
Even if her biological father doesn't care, there are always people out there ready to care and who would kill to take his place. It's not all over.

I'm not sure what is worse, a father who runs at the first knowledge of fathering a child, or a father who stays and treats his children badly or neglects them?

It's something that I don't quite still get, but sometimes, children are better off without one or both of their biological parents.

I'm not sure what is worse, a father who runs at the first knowledge of fathering a child, or a father who stays and treats his children badly or neglects them?



Are these the only options?

How about the standard one which is that there is official marraige with the purpose to live togeather and share the good and the bad moments, have a family and raise the children properly to be a valuable members of the society.

Obviously that is something rarely happens in the western world.

Are these the only options?

How about the standard one which is that there is official marraige with the purpose to live togeather and share the good and the bad moments, have a family and raise the children properly to be a valuable members of the society.

Obviously that is something rarely happens in the western world.

Ahhhh once again ignorance, arrogance and plain stupidity rule the day in Sabla! *sigh* ho hum :rolleyes:

OMG! Firstly, that poor girl! How terrifying it must have been for her to give birth home all alone. Hamdullah her and her baby are safe and healthy now.

Now lets get down the cr*p ya all been spoutin here: :angry::os

- who made ya all judge and jury of this girl? what gives youthe right to judge and comment on her chastity (or lack thereof?)

- not all unwed girls who fall pregnant are wh0res, in case ya all didnt know it only takes one shot to get pregnant. Just one miniscule lil spermie. She could have been in love, she could be in a long term relationship, she could have made a mistake. How very perfect ya all must be, never to have made a mistake EVER in your lives! :rolleyes:

- "illigitemite" children are not teased or looked down by other cultures. Only Arabs are hypocritical and mean enough to punish a child for their parents choices

- contraceptives dont always work - 99% is not 100% safe, condoms break, the pill fails.......

- this is not a "west" vs muslim issue! My God! Muslims dont have premarital sex? Girls dont fall pregnant out of wedlock here? Wake up! Youre living in a fantasy world - here we just lie and hide it. Which is worse? Hypocricy or honesty?

And lastly, single parent families do just fine raising their kids! In fact, if we could be honest here for a minute, you'd all admit that most women here raise their kids alone. Sure hubby provides some cash, but the caring, feeding, teaching, raising is left to the women while the men go out to work, hang out with the shebab, go on vacation ALONE, spend the whole week in Muscat while she sits home alone in the village with 10kids ...... sounds like a single parent to me!

If you dont know what youre talking about, do us a favour - shut your pie hole! Dont make me come over there and beat ya with my stick!:hmm:

^oh look...no answers.
am i surbraised?

Well said Hijabi. I salute her courage, however it would have been more courageous if she did the right thing and informed her mother. I think not disclosing her state might have been stupid on her part because she could have been seriously injured by this experience.

As to be expected Minerva.... silence of the wolves....

Lym I agree - she should have told her mum but then again since when have teenagers ever been smart?

You are reacting as if this girl is the first girl in the western world do such thing and get pregnant out of no marraige.

And lastly, single parent families do just fine raising their kids! In fact, if we could be honest here for a minute, you'd all admit that most women here raise their kids alone. Sure hubby provides some cash, but the caring, feeding, teaching, raising is left to the women while the men go out to work, hang out with the shebab, go on vacation ALONE, spend the whole week in Muscat while she sits home alone in the village with 10kids ...... sounds like a single parent to me!



So you are saying the father has no role in rasing his kids, no one is going to believe you, yes there are exceptions sometimes but we don't base our conclusions based on exceptional cases.

You are reacting as if this girl is the first girl in the western world do such thing and get pregnant out of no marraige.



So you are saying the father has no role in rasing his kids, no one is going to believe you, yes there are exceptions sometimes but we don't base our conclusions based on exceptional cases.


You apparently have no problem doing just that. :hyper:

Right Thalia.

Every one of Tea's conclusions is based on an exceptional case.

:D :D

You are reacting as if this girl is the first girl in the western world do such thing and get pregnant out of no marraige.



So you are saying the father has no role in rasing his kids, no one is going to believe you, yes there are exceptions sometimes but we don't base our conclusions based on exceptional cases.

And you ar reacting as if ALL western girls fall pregnant out of wedlock! And muslim girls dont? Oh yes and that its the girls fault... she did this all by herself right? Wind pollination?

No Ice not the exception but the norm. Dont feel shy, we women know the truth..... Sit down and think real hard how much most men actually do when it comes to raising their kids........:rolleyes: I dont need ppl to beleive me, they all know its true.

In your house who:
changes diapers
feeds the children
checks homework
gets up for a crying child
cleans up after the kids
cleans/ bathes the kids
teaches them manners
taught them to speak
potty training
gets them up and dressed for school?
Shall I go on?

What exactly do men contribute to the "raising of children other than sperm and money?:rolleyes:

I stick to my opinion, though a bit louder this time:

BOO HOO

In your house who:
changes diapers
feeds the children
checks homework
gets up for a crying child
cleans up after the kids
cleans/ bathes the kids
teaches them manners
taught them to speak
potty training
gets them up and dressed for school?
Shall I go on?

I don't have kids at home

This is a problem with a multicultural forum: people from different backgrounds having different opinions about a case, and judging a case from their own perspective; without acknowledging the fact that people are different.. and without imagining, really just for a second, what would they expect if they were in that case's shoes.

And you ar reacting as if ALL western girls fall pregnant out of wedlock! And muslim girls dont? Oh yes and that its the girls fault... she did this all by herself right? Wind pollination?

No Ice not the exception but the norm. Dont feel shy, we women know the truth..... Sit down and think real hard how much most men actually do when it comes to raising their kids........:rolleyes: I dont need ppl to beleive me, they all know its true.

In your house who:
changes diapers
feeds the children
checks homework
gets up for a crying child
cleans up after the kids
cleans/ bathes the kids
teaches them manners
taught them to speak
potty training
gets them up and dressed for school?
Shall I go on?

What exactly do men contribute to the "raising of children other than sperm and money?:rolleyes:


AMEN AMEN AMEN!

This is a problem with a multicultural forum: people from different backgrounds having different opinions about a case, and judging a case from their own perspective; without acknowledging the fact that people are different.. and without imagining, really just for a second, what would they expect if they were in that case's shoes.

Well said.

This fight will never end if both sides keep emphasizing their own ways .

So lets stop .

Let's learn on how to see things from other's perspectives.

Middle Eastern/Asian ppl should learn to see things from Westerners' perspectives
Western ppl should learn to see things from ME's perspectives.

And you ar reacting as if ALL western girls fall pregnant out of wedlock! And muslim girls dont? Oh yes and that its the girls fault... she did this all by herself right? Wind pollination?

If she didn't had a boy friend then such thing will not happen to her.


No Ice not the exception but the norm. Dont feel shy, we women know the truth..... Sit down and think real hard how much most men actually do when it comes to raising their kids........:rolleyes: I dont need ppl to beleive me, they all know its true.

In your house who:
changes diapers
feeds the children
checks homework
gets up for a crying child
cleans up after the kids
cleans/ bathes the kids
teaches them manners
taught them to speak
potty training
gets them up and dressed for school?
Shall I go on?

What exactly do men contribute to the "raising of children other than sperm and money?:rolleyes:

The husband and the wife do all the above, sharing responsibility except changing diapers, the wife do it normally, other than that both of them do the rest. Did you forget about love, the childern needs both mother and father love and care.

So men are not only for sperm and money as you think. :rolleyes:

Well-said, Ice Tea :)

It is mother's main duty to raise the family, but it's father's responsibility too besides earning income. A kid needs both the feature of a mother and a father to live normally without emotional pain . It doesn't mean real/biological mother & father only. An orphan can simply take her uncle and aunt as the feature of her parents.

These days though one can find many many global households were both parents work so the man really should become more involved with his children and not just bring home money. For a woman to work AND clean AND care for the kids AND care for the husband is too much. Imagine if a man had to do all that???

A one income family just doesn't cut it any more.

BTW nothing wrong with the man also changing the diapers. Would be good for him. That is just more bonding time with the father.

These days though one can find many many global households were both parents work so the man really should become more involved with his children and not just bring home money. For a woman to work AND clean AND care for the kids AND care for the husband is too much. Imagine if a man had to do all that???

A one income family just doesn't cut it any more.

BTW nothing wrong with the man also changing the diapers. Would be good for him. That is just more bonding time with the father.

That is what me & IceTea meant.

Cool..unfortunately allot of men don't help with these things. I grew up in a very traditional household. Mom stayed at home while dad worked. She did everthing in the house and I mean everything. Dad never lifted a finger except to eat and work outside when it was warm i.e. cutting grass etc.

I have seen a slow trend of American men helping more out at home but the average still is that American women who work still carry most of the burden of keeping the home clean and carrying for the children. In essence still like a single mother except they have extra income coming in from the husband. And from what I have read on this forum working Omani women also carry that burden of working at their job and at home.

This is the way I look at it. Times are changing. This is the 21st century and society has to evolve. If not then there are going to be large issues with the family.

I don't think having a baby out of wedlock is the end of the world but it isn't easy either to raise a kid on your own. Especially when the sperm donor is not around.

But we cannot simply condemn girls who do have kids out of wedlock. We can educate them NOT to have sex but boys need to be educated also to keep their desires in their pants.

It is a two way street. The only reason women are singled out is because they are the ones who have the kids if they don't get an abortion. Personally I feel if a girl cannot raise the child then either 1. Put it up for adoption or 2. Get an abortion. Period.