College sophomore Nayzia Thomas was working three jobs and going to summer classes when she found out she was pregnant. She kept working up until she was in labor and the photo capturing the moment has gone viral.
Yahoo! Lifestyle reported that Thomas, who is studying psychology at Johnson County Community College in Kansas City, Missouri, stayed in school until she was 39 weeks pregnant.
She finished her final psych exam before giving birth to her son, Anthony Alexander Johnson, with her fiance, Daivon Johnson.
"It wasn't due until the end of the week ... but my goal was to try to have everything done before," she told Yahoo Lifestyle. "(I thought) 'Before all this gets crazy let me hurry up and finish this final.'"
Thomas said her mother took the now-viral photo.
“It’s the perfect explanation of my life. Yes, I’m about to have a baby, but final season ain't over yet,” she captioned the post on Twitter.
Thomas gave birth to Anthony at 1:30 p.m. on Dec. 12. After some complications during birth, she is doing well.
"I experienced major blood loss and my body went into shock post-delivery," Thomas said on Twitter. "It was very scary, but his father was right there to take over when I went unconscious. We are blessed! And I'm finishing the semester with a 3.5 GPA!"
The tweet has over 28,000 retweets and more that 130,000 likes and counting.
“Going viral was definitely overwhelming for me, especially being a new mom trying to embrace the precious moment of giving birth,” Thomas told the Cox Media Group National Content Desk. “But as a double minority -- woman and African-American -- I am more than thankful for the opportunity to be a voice for the teen parents and young couples that are discouraged by all of the negative stereotypes. I hope to have given everyone some encouragement to go into the new year with!”
“School is so important to me,” Thomas told Yahoo! Lifestyle. “I didn’t want (the pregnancy) to be in the way. That’s what people expect. You’re a teen mom, you’re a young mother. That’s why my mom took that picture. It shows follow-through.”
Thomas plans to take a month off during winter break before taking 15 credits next semester. For now, she and her family are settling in at home, excited for Anthony’s first Christmas.
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