The girl who came to the rural health center in Jocotán was only 13. I cannot forget her face. Her eyes were wide with terror and shame. Her voice trembled when she finally got up the nerve to speak, and then she collapsed, crying. She was pregnant. She had no idea how it had happened. It seems incredible, but nobody had ever explained to her how her body worked.
Author: Dr. Michelle Dubón
Dr. Michelle Dubón is a gynecologist and obstetrician. She is medical director of WINGS, a Guatemalan NGO that provides reproductive health education, counseling and contraceptive services to approximately 25,000 patients per year.