Sally Field Revealed ‘Traumatic Event’ When She Was Pregnant at 17 – Meet Her 3 Sons Born Years Later
Two-time Academy Award winner Sally Field shared that being a mother “saved” her. Reflecting on a difficult experience from before she became a parent, she admitted feeling “ashamed” about that chapter in her life.
Sally Field, who first became pregnant as a teenager and is now a mother of three, opened up about a “traumatic event” from her younger years. She admitted that she’s long been hesitant to share this part of her past.
Sally Field first became pregnant at 17 and had no sense of direction in life at that point. | Source: Getty Images
In an Instagram post from October 2024, Sally divulged, “I’ve been so hesitant to do this, to tell my horrific story.” The actress pointed to the social constraints of her teenage years, a time “even worse than now,” when contraception was hardly accessible and only available to married women.
Accompanied by a video, her post delved deeply into the ordeal. “I feel still very ashamed about it because I was raised in the 50s and it’s ingrained in me,” she began.
The movie star explained that as a teenager, her choices were limited, “I didn’t have a lot of family support in any way or finances.” Despite completing high school, college wasn’t mentioned in her household, and she remained unaware of that path.
After discovering she was pregnant at 17, a trusted family doctor—along with his wife and her mother—took her across the border for a procedure that was difficult and overwhelming.
Once there, the doctor parked a few blocks away and handed her an envelope with money, instructing her to enter a building alone. “I guess he thought that if I were dying maybe he could help me,” Sally recalled, describing the experience as “beyond hideous and life-altering.”
With no financial means, Sally Field opted to terminate the pregnancy. | Source: Getty Images