Could her baby be at risk?
Not every pregnancy decision is popular, but at the end of the day, it’s the mother’s choice what she does with her body. But when it comes to risking the safety of the unborn child, it’s not uncommon for more people to try to intervene. That might just be why Teen Mom pregnancies tend to be so controversial.
Now that Amber Portwood is pregnant for the second time, things seem to be much different. She’s in a more stable relationship, has her own home, and is staying on top of her sobriety. But this recent update has many of her fans concerned about the safety of her pregnancy and the effects that her choices will have on her child.
Feeling Better
Amber Portwood shocked fans when she revealed that she was pregnant for the second time. Given that she had only been dating her baby daddy Andrew Glennon for a few months — or potentially weeks — when she got pregnant, it’s pretty safe to say that it wasn’t intentional. Still, fans are excited for her to bring her second child into the world, and Amber seems beyond thrilled about her growing family.
When Amber shared news of her pregnancy, it wasn’t the only major update she had. She also revealed that after she broke up with Matt, she decided to stop taking all of her psychiatric medications.
Amber, who was diagnosed with depression, bipolar disorder, and borderline personality disorder, revealed on Teen Mom OG that she stopped taking her meds around the time she met her baby daddy Andrew. She revealed she was "completely off [her] meds," and that she stopped taking them "about a month ago because [she] didn't need them. [Andrew is] a very uplifting person, he's positive."
Previously, Amber has shared that the medications for her mental illnesses could complicate a pregnancy.
Going Smoothly
“I just got re-diagnosed for Borderline Personality and Bipolar Disorder, and I’ve been taking three medications now that I need to take for the rest of my life,” Amber revealed in an earlier season of Teen Mom OG. “I can’t, I can’t get pregnant on this medication.” She went on to add, “I can get pregnant, but it would mess up the fetus. If I do not have medication, I will not be normal. I would have … crazy mood swings.”
Now, she’s shared that she decided to go back on antidepressants during her pregnancy.
“I’m on medication for depression now that’s safe for pregnant women, because it was getting pretty bad and we had a scare that maybe I would fall into a postpartum depression after the baby,” Amber revealed to Us Magazine. “But everything’s going smoothly.”
Controversial Opinions
As with any pregnancy decision, this has made quite the divide in the fanbase. “Good for her and baby,” wrote reddit user genius_f*ckface. “She needs to have a clear head. It's not always easy being pregnant with hormones alone let alone having a mental illness.” User emdee39 wrote, “The first smart decision she’s made since dumping Matt.”
Others were less happy about the update. “It’s really about the baby though,” shared user valkyriejones. “And I don’t care what anyone says, psychotropic medications during pregnancy are a big no-no.” User JennHatesYou shared, “Um. This is....not good? Anti-depressants, for someone who is bipolar, can have serious consequences. It can flip them into mania/hypomania and/or cause them to rapid cycle… My opinion is Amber probably didn't bring up the bipolar with her doctor and stuck with the ‘I'm depressed’ line. I guess we shall see in the next few months if she starts to cycle again, my guess is that she will.”
Convenient Timing
Some seem to think that the only reason Amber is speaking out her medication at all is because of her recent admission that she was not sober while filming Marriage Boot Camp. “I was heavily drinking on top of my bipolar and borderline medication,” Amber tweeted after an episode of her explosive behavior aired on Marriage Boot Camp .
“Obviously something you shouldn’t do with medications like that. However it happened and I went through hard times in order to be truly happy finally.”
She went on to say, “No matter what struggles I went through a year ago on ‘MBC’… I’m now happy, healthy and sober. The struggles & anger I went through are real & I’m happy to have ended such a horrific time in my life! Ready to live life clear headed and full of love. The future is finally bright.”
“Typical,” wrote user chrissycakes8726. “Anytime Amber is shown in a bad light, all of a sudden an article comes out from some magazine that she's spoken to claiming that she's doing some great thing that she knows people want to hear. All she wants is the praise from fans for ‘doing the right thing.’” User Modean52 agreed, “So another Amber mental illness/medication article appearing right before a new episode of [Marriage Boot Camp], how convenient. Is Amber advising her many followers to maybe not booze it up while you’re on any kind of meds?”
High Hopes
Amber has more plans than just meds to help her through her mental illness, though.
“One of the main therapeutic things that I wanted to do is a blog for people who have mental illnessesand want to share their stories about how they overcame certain situations, just to show people that we’re all in this together,” she shared with Us.
She added that she’s hopeful that things will stay civil between her and her extended family. “I just want a healthy baby. I want everybody — me, Gary, [his wife] Kristina, Andrew — to blend together and stop the back-and-forth,” Amber said. “I have a really calm, chill life and I’m happy for the first time, genuinely.” She added, “I’ve had people come up and tell me that it’s so much easier [to have a boy], and then I have people tell me it’s harder. So, I guess I have to find out for myself.”
No Rush
As for her relationship with Andrew, Amber pumped the breaks on insider claims that she and Andrew are planning to get married. “We haven’t talked about marriage or anything like that, and it’s not like a huge thing for us right now,” she said. “We’re happy where we’re at. If it happens, it happens, and there’s no rush.”
But apparently things are going very well for the new couple, at least according to Amber. “We just really connect and definitely feel it was good for both of us,” she said. “We’re the happiest we’ve ever been.” Of course, some of their more explosive fights have been caught on camera, making some fans question just how stable their relationship is.
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