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182 Lost by the wayside – overstepping limits was also unhelpful. Although Sarah had considered dropping out of school even before she got pregnant, two of her teachers particularly supported her. Her gym teacher dedicated one hour of gym class to pregnancy and birth, showing the entire class the film Gentle Birth and referring Sarah to a preparatory pregnant mothers’ group. She helped with “a lot of information” and made it clear to Sarah how important it is to “listen to your feelings”. Sarah said that through this sup- port from the (female) teacher, she got a “womanly feeling” she had never had before. She discovered “the woman in me” and could “incredibly quickly . . . mentally . . . in every possible way prepare myself for the baby”. The “strong personal change” through her pregnancy and “a certain maturity” she had now acquired made it clear to her that “I would only like a ‘gentle delivery’”. Sarah’s life situation shortly before her pregnancy Sarah describes her situation as unclear, diffuse. Shortly before she became preg- nant, she had considered dropping out of school – partly because of her bad grades: Back then, I had terrible problems at school – actually, I had always wanted to drop out. My mother said she wouldn’t mind – I would just have to start work somewhere. (Pankratz 1997, 51) We can assume that Sarah’s idea of dropping out of school was a cry for help to elicit her parents’ support. But her mother did not react as expected, instead seem- ing to have no objection to Sarah’s plan; Sarah characterized this as “somehow not moral support” – while smiling in order to not show (or feel) her disappoint- ment and hurt. Paradoxically, her pregnancy and support from her school then enabled her to pass her final exam, in her fifth month of pregnancy. Her career plans were unclear at this point; she wanted to “go to the Film Academy or study something artistic”, as she said. At the same point that she got failing grades in her courses, she learned that she was pregnant. “Somehow I was glad that I finally knew how things would develop,” she said. In the interview, Sarah was no longer sure whether her first reaction to her pregnancy was to “throw everything over- board” or to carry on. She said the pregnancy lent an “amazing meaning to life”. Her impending role as mother seemed to dissolve any uncertainty as to how her life would go on after the final exam. She did not yet have to decide between continuing her education or getting a job; she had a “time out” for taking care of the baby. Discovery of the pregnancy Sarah’s mother was the first to suspect her daughter was pregnant. She seemed to be informed about her daughter’s menstrual cycle and reminded her that her period was long overdue.