Experiences of being a young mum

[cccat]

Hi,

I'm a university student writing about women who decide to have children in their early twenties. I just wondered if there are any young mums out there who would be willing to share their experiences?

Why did you decide to have children at a young age?

Do you feel that society is more critical of younger mothers?

Any thoughts and opinions would be really helpful...

Thanks

I was 18 giving birth to ds and 21 giving birth to dd if you want any information PM me.

Hi :)

I got pregnant at 19, and it was planned. I had been with my partner since 16 (he's much older than me) and it felt like the next step. I've always been very maternal and it was a struggle to wait as long as we did - I did my a levels and had a place at a top uni but decided we didn't want to delay it while I did a degree.

We didn't tell anyone we were trying but once we got pregnant everyone was happy for us. DD is now 3, and after we married we had a DS who is 1. No more though :)

I'm really glad we had kids now, I know it's quite unusual to choose motherhood at 19 but it felt right.

I can't say I've had any problems. Most of my friends are older but they've never looked down on me, often saying they are amazed I'm so young as I'm very mature (their words not mine).

I get a bit sick of the prejudices against young mums (I've heard of pregnant teens being told they will not breastfeed) but I haven't faced any such problems myself.