Those Three Words: A Birth Mother's Story of Choice, Chance, and Motherhood

''You are pregnant.''

Those three words uttered together pack a powerful emotional punch. For many women, hearing them elicits tremendous joy and excitement. They are the start of a dream come true. But those same words said together also cause the opposite reaction--one of panic and despair.

The first time Chris Bauer heard those words, she was just 18 years old, a few weeks into her freshman year of college. She was devastated. She was not ready to be a mother, and she had an agonizing deci...