We saw the commercials. We saw the shows. We heard the radio ads. But that never stopped our curiosity. Being a junior and a senior in high school, we wanted to experience firsthand the trials and tribulations of being an expectant teen mother. Statistically speaking, one-third of all girls in the United States will get pregnant in their teen years, according to pregnantteenhelp.org. But the statistics fail to mention the stares, the glares, and the turning of heads that come with being a pregnant teen.

Two weeks ago, we set out on a social experiment. We walked around South County Mall then ate dinner at Pasta House. Normal, right? Well, there was a twist. Each of us took a turn wearing a 30-pound empathy belly, which is essentially a pregnancy suit. Because we appeared to be real-life expecting teens, we experienced some real-life baggage that comes with it.

Walking around the mall, hands on the baby bump, crowds of people immediately labeled us without even knowing our names or our story. It was an intimidating factor at first, but we kept moving forward. After going to Forever 21 and realizing skinny jeans and crop tops were not proper attire for an expecting mother, we went to two other stores. We were ignored at all of them.

Like any real-life expectant mother, we decided to satisfy our cravings, resulting in a trip to Pasta House. At this point, we switched the belly. When we sat down, we put our recently purchased copy of Seventeen PROM magazine and the 2011 edition of The Baby Names Almanac on the table. Our waitress walked up and told us about the $2.99 margarita special, then saw the book and asked who was expecting. This time, however, instead of questioning and fear, we got a supportive welcome.

She asked how far along the pregnancy was and showed genuine interest. Throughout the meal, she periodically checked on us with a smile. After we got the check, we filled her in on our experiment and asked her what she thought.

“Sex is everywhere,” our waitress said.

She told us she had no judgment because people even younger than us are getting pregnant.

Aside from the emotional burden, we felt the physical pain as well. Back pain, awkwardness of body movement, back pain, clumsiness, back pain, sweating, back pain and increased bladder pressure were just a few of the physical symptoms, and we each only wore the belly for an hour. Did we mention back pain? Luckily, we could relieve these symptoms simply by removing the velcro straps of the empathy belly, but real-life mothers have to bear these burdens for nine months. All that plus being a high school student—juggling friends, work, school, relationships and a baby—seems nearly impossible.

At times throughout the day, we were judged by all races, all ages and all sexes. We faced so many new barriers, simply because of one choice people thought we made. The normal life we used to live was completely off limits, and there was no way to hide. And even though we thought we had an inkling of what we would go through, we realized we truly were not prepared for motherhood.

Like it or not, the fact of the matter is, more than 400,000 teenagers give birth to a child annually, according to pregnantteenhelp.org. That’s more than 400,000 girls a year who must be prepared for motherhood.

After our adventure, we had the chance to speak with Daisha Smith, junior and mother of a 4-month old son who helped us understand that our three-hour social experiment on a random Sunday was nowhere close to real life. The empathy belly showed us the physical pain. Daisha helped us understand the emotional and mental toll of the pregnancy, including the looming fear of telling those closest to her she was pregnant. The empathy belly showed us the stares and rolled eyes. Daisha helped us understand the severed relationships. And Daisha helped us understand not only the responsibility and the struggles, but also the incredible bond between mother and son.