Beaudy Camacho Loney was 17-years-old and enjoying her senior year of high school in Guam when she discovered she was pregnant.
Although she was aware of contraception, Beaudy says teenage hormones got the better of her.
"Seeing that my pregnancy test was positive, I was so scared. Flooded with all those emotions," Beaudy recalls.
"I felt so alone and so embarrassed, being a student leader and having gotten pregnant.
"And how are my parents going to react?"
Many teenage girls are afraid to tell their families they are pregnant, as they are at risk of being shamed, beaten and even disowned.
But this was not the case for Beaudy.
"[My parents] were super disappointed because my entire life I've been such a good student, always listening to them regarding how to behave and how to just conduct myself in a manner that they were pleased with," Beaudy told Sistas, Let's Talk.
She continued high school as a senior while pregnant.
"They kept me home, and I think if I did not have that it would have been more of a struggle and a challenge to continue my education."
Pregnancy in the Pacific
The average rate of teen pregnancy in the Pacific is five times higher than in Australia.
And it concerns former Fijian politician Mereseini Rakuita, who has devoted her life to gender equality across the Pacific and now works for the Pacific Community (SPC) as the principal strategy lead for women and girls.
"It's estimated that one in six young women in the Pacific by the time they have reached 18 years of age, they have already commenced childbearing," Mereseini says.
"That's a big number to worry about."
According to the Pacific Data Hub, there are 50 births to every 1000 girls aged between 15 and 19 years annually.
In Australia, the birth rates of teen mums halved in the last decade from 17.6 per 1000 to 9.2.
While there has also been a decline across eight countries in the Pacific, it remains high in Papua New Guinea, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu.
"Most of these girls don't have access to the information that they should be having in relation to their bodies and how their bodies work in relation to sexual reproduction health and their rights pertaining to that," Mereseini says.
It's a wake-up call for the government to pay attention to this and invest in sexual health education, she adds.
In 2013, 13 Pacific countries signed up to the Moana Declaration, which identified adolescent reproductive health as a priority.
"It's a culture of not talking about it," Mereseini says, and this needs to change – both at a government and family level.
Few options
When it comes to unplanned pregnancy, options are slim.
Abortion is largely criminalised in the Pacific region, although there are some exceptions, Mereseini says.
The alternative is that it drives young girls to traditional practices that they've heard of through their grandmothers or mothers.
"Most of these traditional methods, because they're being done by a young girl who doesn't know how to practise traditional medicine, for example, ends up a danger to their lives."
In her line of work, Mereseini has come across girls who've hidden their pregnancies right up to birth.
One girl in boarding school kept her baby in a closet and there have been cases of babies left on the side of the road because the mothers were so fearful of their family's reaction, Mereseini says.
Loading...'Economic empowerment'
When unsupported, teen mums are less likely to finish their education and are at higher risk of gender-based violence.
There is also an impact on the country's productivity and economy, Mereseini says.
"Family support is critical", and she knows firsthand when her 19-year-old daughter had a baby.
"I instantly blamed myself, because I didn't talk about sex either — and I went to university.
"I just assumed that she was a very intelligent girl and she would know these things."
However, Mereseini supported her daughter, and three years later she is at university.
And, aside from sex education and access to contraception, what do girls and young women need?
"I asked my daughter this question yesterday, and her answer is economic empowerment. These girls need to be able to stand on their own feet and look after their baby and get them back into the education sector."
'Experience to educate'
For Beaudy Camacho Loney, her parents made all the difference, and she also received support in unexpected places.
One of her greatest supporters at school was her vice principal, who had also been a teen mum.
"That was such a blessing to have heard her story, because I felt so alone and so embarrassed being a student leader and having gotten pregnant.
"I thought no one would understand me."
Beaudy's son is now 13 years old, and although the relationship with his father did not work, she's now happily married now with another two sons.
She is now invited to talk at schools – particularly middle school – and she uses her experience to educate teens on making the right choices for themselves.