Anafurahi kuwa na mtoto aliyempata kwa kubakwa

NI habari inayosikitisha lakini inafundisha, ungekuwa wewe sijui ungefanya nini.

Alibakwa akiwa na umri wa miaka 19 akiwa amelewa, na cha kushangaza alipoamka hakutambua kuwa alikuwa kabakwa, na kajazwa mimba.

Mtego wa kumbaka ulitegwa kwenye party aliyoiandaa bosi kwa wafanyakazi, ingawa hakuwa na kawaida ya kwenda kwenye 'minuso' kama huo, ilibidi aende kujumuika na wafanyakazi wenzake ili asionekane anajitenga.

Alibakwa usiku huo, kesho yake alisikia minong'ono kwamba mmoja wa wanaume ofisini kwao 'alijirusha nae' baada ya pati.

Hakukumbuka kwamba hilo lilitokea ila alikumbuka kwamba alilewa wine.

Siku za nyuma aliwahi kunywa pombe lakini alishangaa hakukumbuka chochote kilichotokea siku ya pati.

Hakukumbuka alifika vipi nyumbani au chochote kilichotokea baada ya saa tano usiku.

Baada ya kubaini kuwa alibakwa na kajazwa mimba alitaka kuitoa, alifikiria kwenda kushitaki polisi lakini alijiuliza atasema nini huko.

Leo ni mama mwenye furaha, anamlea mtoto mwenye umri wa miaka saba aliyempata kwa kubakwa!

Soma zaidi hapo chini

The party was a rare night out. Raised in a devout, Christian family in Reading, Berks, I was more used to going to choir practice than clubs with friends.

But I had just landed a job with a telemarketing company and, when the new director announced he was taking us all out for a drink, I didn't want to seem unfriendly, so I agreed to go along.

I arrived quite late and a guy called Rob*, who I recognised from another group of friends, came over to chat.

I was drinking lemonade - I'd wanted to remain clear-headed with my work colleagues - but when he handed me a glass of wine I accepted.

Miriam considered an abortion when she fell pregnant after being raped but she has no regrets about having her daughter, now aged seven.

I was only 19 and desperate not to appear rude. Still, I took only a couple of sips and then, when he wasn't looking, left the glass on the bar. The next few minutes are a blur.

I vaguely remember feeling woozy and falling to the floor, and I recall a friend helping me outside and then going to find us a taxi.

Then I have a hazy memory of Rob pushing me against a wall. But that's all I can recall.

I know I wasn't drunk, but I have no memory of how I got home or what happened after 11pm.

The next thing I remember is waking up the next morning at my friend Laurel's house.

'What happened last night?' he asked. 'I got a call from a taxi driver, who said you'd been left by the road with no money.'

Thankfully, the taxi driver had seen the state I was in and gone through my phone, dialling the most recently called numbers to try to find someone who would help me.

Laurel had answered, directed the taxi to his house and paid the driver.

He told me I'd been crying and unintelligible when I arrived, so he'd assumed I was drunk. He put me to bed on the sofa to sleep it off.

My mind was in a turmoil. I couldn't tell Laurel what had happened because I didn't know myself and that was terrifying.

I kept getting flashbacks of being on the ground outside the club and someone being on top of me My head was pounding as if I had a hangover and I kept getting flashbacks of being on the ground outside the club and someone being on top of me.

But I didn't have any bruises or ripped clothes and, apart from feeling sick, there was nothing physically wrong with me.

The thought that something sexual might have happened did flash through my mind, but I quickly dismissed it. I felt sure that I'd have known if I'd had sex.

Not being able to remember what had happened was the worst part of the ordeal - it was like a black hole in my brain.

I've drunk alcohol in the past and knew it could make you forget, but this was a complete blackout. As I hadn't been drinking, I just could not work it out.

I thought about going to the police, but what would I say? They'd think I was an idiot - after all, I had no idea what had happened.

As the feelings of nausea and tiredness wore off over the weekend, I decided to put the whole thing out of my mind.

But at work on Monday, I overheard someone gossiping that I'd slept with Rob at the party.

Apparently, his girlfriend had seen him pushing me against the wall outside as she stormed off in a taxi.

Angry and confused, I emailed him and demanded to know what had happened.

He admitted he'd tried to kiss me, but reassured me that I'd rejected his advances and nothing had happened.

I wasn't sure if I trusted him, but I had nothing else to go on. Wanting to forget about the whole night, I tried to get on with my life.

Good can come of evil: Miriam has developed a close bond with her daughter and will one day tell her how she was conceivedI was relieved when, a few weeks later, I was made redundant. It would be a chance to start again.

A few weeks later, I started dating my friend Laurel and life seemed really good.

So good, in fact, that I ignored the fact I was feeling dizzy and tired all the time.

But then one day I fainted in the supermarket. Coming round on the floor, surrounded by people, I had no idea what was wrong. Frightened, I went straight to my doctor.

He asked if there was any possibility that I could be pregnant, but Laurel and I hadn't slept together, so I said 'No'.

He took some blood to send off for tests. On the way home, I visited a friend, who was six months pregnant.

Describing my symptoms to her, she said it sounded as if I could be pregnant and insisted I take a test.

Wanting to prove her wrong, I did a test straight away in her bathroom. It's hard to describe the shock I felt when I saw it was positive.

I sat staring at the blue line for ages, shaking my head and saying: 'No, no, this can't be true.

'Finally, I managed to get myself together and went straight to a local family planning clinic.

They confirmed I was 16 weeks pregnant, telling me that the baby had been conceived in April.

Something clicked. Rob's face appeared in my mind and I instinctively knew he'd raped me.

I was so angry and confused: how could this be happening to me? I never thought I'd end up a young, unmarried mother It sounds like a cliche, but my body went numb.

It was as if I was floating - looking at my life from outside and wondering what was going on. I told Laurel later that night.

I knew he wouldn't be angry with me because he's such a lovely guy, but he was furious with Rob.

He remembered the night it had happened and how out of control I'd been. He encouraged me to go to the police.

I was furious, too, so I agreed, but first I wanted to confront Rob. I called him and told him about the baby. He went quiet.

Then he said: 'Look, I apologise for what I did to you that night - but I didn't think it would come to this.

'He was at work, so couldn't talk much, but I was shaking with fury. He said he'd call me back later, but didn't. When I called him again, he'd changed his tone.

'What's this got to do with me? How do I know this baby is even mine?' he asked. 'You've got to get rid of it.'

Until then, I'd been too scared to tell my parents. I knew they'd be disappointed about me having a baby outside marriage.

But, distraught at Rob's reaction, I went straight to their house and told them
everything.

They were incredibly upset, but after the initial shock, they were supportive.

Dad insisted I go to the police. At the station, the female officer took down my story and asked if I thought I'd been drugged. When she described the effects of date rape drugs, it fell into place.

I'd had only a sip of wine and was unable to remember anything. I was convinced that's what had happened, so they started an investigation.

I was so angry and confused: how could this be happening to me?

I never thought I'd end up a young, unmarried mother, but here I was doing exactly that.

Coming from such a Christian family, I've never believed in abortion, but suddenly finding myself pregnant with a rapist's baby, I looked at it differently.

I just couldn't face the thought of the baby being born and looking like Rob - it would be a constant reminder of what had happened.

I didn't have long to decide what to do - 24 weeks is the latest you can have
an abortion.

Laurel was incredibly supportive and put no pressure on me to have a termination, but despite everyone's assurances I just couldn't stop feeling that I had an alien growing inside me.

After seeking counselling, I decided to go ahead with the termination.

I thought: 'If I don't have this baby inside me, all my problems will be over and I can move on with my life.'