Dr. Mary Fariba Afsari

People don't realize that we still take 24-hour shifts as OBGYNs.

And some of us will do a 24-hour shift and then we'll show up at our clinic the next day and see patients for another 12.

That is the type of thing that is sort of under the radar right now.

I don't think people still understand that that is how the medical system functions in our country today.

And the toll is being placed on the doctors.

And then there's a ripple effect, obviously.

Yeah, it was one of those situations where you look at your schedule for the day and you realize somebody's coming in.

They are younger than anybody you've ever seen pregnant, and they're coming in for a new pregnancy visit.

And then you find out when you walk in the room that their pregnancy is fairly far along, four or five months in.

So the pregnancy had been kept a secret until it couldn't be kept a secret any longer.

So when I met that patient who was so young,

and looked so young.

You know, people get pregnant for different reasons, as we know, and sometimes it's consensual and sometimes it's not.

And most of the time we can discern that as their doctor, sort of what was the situation that led to the pregnancy.

I think the most challenging part of this

Yes, it was her age.

It was also that we never, ever learned what had led to her becoming pregnant.

And Amelia herself told me over and over again that she could not remember how she got pregnant.

And that is what stuck with me through the entire course of her pregnancy is that how could a pregnancy possibly be a choice if you can't even remember how you became pregnant?

And there was a story being told.