Teenage Pregnancy - Charlotte's Story

Teen pregnancy figures have risen over the years and in Leicestershire alone around 300 girls fall pregnant every year. It’s not all fun and games as one young mum tells us her personal account of becoming pregnant in her teens. The following story includes real facts but the names have been changed to protect the identity of everyone involved.

When Charlotte was just 17 she had a steady relationship with her boyfriend Tom. They had been together eight months when they discovered some shocking news. She was pregnant. The first signs came when Charlotte experienced severe morning sickness and her period was late. Her initial reaction was to ignore the signs and pretend it wasn’t happening to her. An unplanned pregnancy can be a tough thing to deal with especially, in Charlotte’s case, at a young age. Although Charlotte had finished her studies, so didn’t have to worry about interrupting them, she had plans to pursue a career.

Charlotte said: “I always imagined I’d have a career before a child but I guess I’ll have to do it the other way round”.

All kinds of emotions washed over Charlotte’s life at this point. Not only does a child affect your life but it affects those around you too. If you are a young person who still lives at home with parents you would have to think about whether your family would support you, or whether you would have to move out and support yourself. The thought of bringing up a child was so difficult to imagine and then of course came the problem of telling her mum and family. Charlotte was so baffled by the concept of bringing up a child that she even suggested to Tom that she should have an abortion. Tom didn’t agree with having an abortion and after talking it through they decided to have the baby. Charlotte and Tom first broke the news to Tom’s mum Jacky.

Jacky said: “I was shocked. I wasn’t angry at all, just shocked”.

Charlotte’s own mum reacted pretty much in the same way and since the birth of their baby boy Joseph both grandma’s have been supportive throughout and helped with the childcare duties. When Joseph was about one years-old Charlotte and Tom planned to have another child together and when Charlotte was 18 she fell pregnant again. Charlotte now aged 19 has a 20month old and a newly born 5 week old boy called Ben. During the pregnancy of Ben, Charlotte and Tom split up due to arguments over parenting techniques. The two could not work out their differences and decided to part. No matter what age, having a child can cause strain on most relationships and it takes a lot of cooperation and compromising to deal with everyday issues that crop up. Both Charlotte and Tom take responsibility of the children and care for them equally, which the two children are lucky to have because some parents would handle the stress of a break up quite the opposite and end up alienating one another from their children. Charlotte now lives on her own and is currently unemployed; however, she hopes to go back into some kind of studies to become a teacher in the future.

Here is some advice from Charlotte for other young mums:

• You have to have lots of patience. There are times that can be really stressful and you might feel like giving up but you have to just pull yourself together.
• You can no longer just think about your own needs. You now have responsibilities.
• One bonus of being a young mum is that you can be more active with your children.

Any young people that think they might be pregnant or are thinking of planning for a child should seek advice. There are many support groups throughout Leicestershire, which can offer help and guidance on a number of things including contraception, pregnancy tests and so on. Having a child in your teens can alter your life plan in an instant. It is not a decision to make lightly and one, which must be discussed by all involved including the father, your own parents and your doctor.