She was 16 years old when she first became a mom and faced several unplanned pregnancies and an abortion while battling addiction for a decade. She has been clean for 15 years and helps women find healing from their abortions.

Rocio Baeza was 16 years old when she faced an unplanned pregnancy in high school. She was living with her then-boyfriend, trying to escape her parents’ divorce and the abusive environment in her home.

“One thing led to another, and I became pregnant … I dropped out of high school and became a mom at a very young age,” Rocio says.

Devastated and afraid, she hid her pregnancy from her parents as much as she could until she was four months along.

“I was afraid to tell my dad. But then again, I was already out of the home. They didn’t even know where I was at or anything. I was so afraid to try to even go back home, and I knew that wasn’t going to happen,” Rocio says.

‘I JUST KEPT GOING. I HELD ON.’

Rocio was overwhelmed by the stress and mental-emotional abuse she faced in her relationship. Her then-boyfriend didn’t give her the support she needed during her pregnancy and left her alone at the hospital during labor. The stress she experienced led to several complications during the delivery of her son, Eddie.

“When my son was born, he wasn’t breathing. They had to work on him to bring him back to life … I was happy that I had my baby, but there was a lot of anxiety and sadness because of the way he was born. All I could see was everybody pumping this and that — I was just devastated,” Rocio recalls.

The father of her child was out of the picture. Rocio was left to parent her son by herself, receiving some support from her then-boyfriend’s parents, whom she was living with at the time. 

“I just kept going. I held on,” Rocio says.

After facing another unplanned pregnancy at 17, she broke off her relationship and later moved to her brother’s house when her sons were 5 and 3 years old.

“That’s when I started drinking and smoking weed. Then it led to coke, and then it led to meth … I feel like I left my home because of my abusive father, but little did I know that I was running away and seeking for all the wrong reasons,” Rocio says.

A DECADE’s LONG BATTLE WITH ADDICTION

Rocio with her six children.

For about a decade, addiction controlled Rocio’s life. She was in and out of rehab, and she hit rock bottom when she lost everything, including her six children. Rocio’s two youngest kids were in the custody of Child Protective Services, and her other children were cared for by family members.

“I told my probation officer that I was dirty coming down, and I needed help — that they either need to put me in jail, that I need to find a recovery home, or I’m just going to end up dead somewhere,” Rocio recalls.

Her probation officer got her into a two-year program where she could live with her two youngest kids while working. It wasn’t easy for Rocio to see her children struggle with PTSD, trying to navigate various changes in their lives.

“Not only did I have to step it up and be a mom to my kids, I also had to learn some things and kind of like go through everything,” Rocio says.

Rocio relapsed several times and faced another unplanned pregnancy. Her conversation with her baby’s father left her feeling worried if she was ready to bring another child into the world. 

“It made me think about everything that I was already going through. I just really felt like I was not ready for it again,” Rocio says.

Rocio was in her late 20s when she got an abortion. To this day, she doesn’t remember much from her abortion, except for the season of depression that came into her life afterward.

“When I was sitting in the clinic, I remember going through so many emotions that I just couldn’t stop crying, but I sort of went along with it. All I remember is making it back to my apartment and laying in bed … I remember having pain pills. They would knock me out, and so that’s what I wanted to take all the time. I just wanted to sleep. I just wanted to keep sleeping … Then I started doing more of the meth,” Rocio recalls.

SET FREE

Rocio with her oldest son, Eddie, who is now 30 years old.

After the abortion, Rocio’s life continued to swirl downhill until she decided she was completely ready to change. Rocio called a pastor’s wife, who managed the home daycare her kids went to, and told her that she was done using drugs.

Rocio never went back to that life of addiction ever again. She has been clean for 15 years and has been married to her husband, Damien, since 2018.

In 2023, Rocio found healing from her abortion after attending a SaveOne session for post-abortive women during an Arizona Women’s Ministry retreat. She is passionate about helping other women find healing from their abortions and co-leads a SaveOne care group at Passion Church in Arizona.

Rocio’s encouragement to those facing an unplanned pregnancy:

“My encouragement for that lady would be that she’s carrying a precious gift of God, that she’s not alone. Psalm 34:18 says, ‘The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.’”

Written by Loren Ward.