Alaska News

Video: Anchorage teenager gives breast milk to the baby she relinquished

In November, an Anchorage teenager gave birth to a baby girl she knew she couldn't raise.

Adoption, she decided, was the best choice.

That part of Kaleena Pysher's story is not unfamiliar.

But the 19-year-old did something that sets her apart: For the last two months, Pysher has fought through pain in her body and heart to pump breast milk for the baby she gave to an adoptive family.

She says she did it for the same reason she chose adoption: "I want her to have the best."

Pysher was 18 when she became pregnant.

The news, delivered by a doctor at a routine appointment, was so startling it took two additional pregnancy tests at home before she believed it.

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Suddenly, "she had to make some very adult decisions," said her stepmother, Kirsten Ballard.

Read more: 'A stronger love': Anchorage teenager gives breast milk to the baby she gave up for adoption

Watch this video on Vimeo or YouTube, and be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more great videos. Contact Tara Young at tara(at)alaskadispatch.com.

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