Social services referral?

[Kat140]

Hi so I had a midwife’s appointment today and she said that she has to refer me to social services because of my age, I’m 16 years old and will be 17 having the baby. I’m just wondering if this is true as it’s never happened to anyone I have spoken to that has had children younger than me?!
May I also add that I have no involvement of social service and never have nether has my baby’s farther and when the baby is here she has no threat to harm agains her and will be well looked after.

Must be a new rule.
This never happened in late 70s.
Unless there were other circumstances

"much younger women" you mean girls? Because they're children.

Anyone younger than you, who is pregnant, will also have social service involvement.

Anyone younger than you isn’t a woman. They’re a child, as are you.

social services are involved because you are a child having a child. They’re there to help you and for the welfare of both you and the baby.

In Scotland, you're an adult aged 16

OP, don't worry. In my area, social work have a special team to support parents under 21 and they're amazing. The parents get fast access to lots of additional help and support if they want it. Grab it with both hands!

If they are saying that they didn't have SS involvement, then they are lying. Where are you living? You can't sign a lease etc. There is a duty of care towards both you and the baby, because you are under 18. They will want to check out your living arrangements, your source of income etc. They will likely drop the plan down to a child in need and you'll have family support. You might feel like an adult, but you are very young. If you moved into your own place, you couldn't shop for knives etc.

Don't worry about what has happened to other people. They will be looking to help you both through the pregnancy and after. Both with the pregnancy and generally. They will look at your education and how best you can continue with your studies - possibly somewhere with a mother and baby unit - and how to help you learn to take care of a baby, yourself and a household, where you will live and how you can support yourself. They will help with benefits you may be entitled to. They will look at your support network and gauge how much help you can get from there and what you will need from them. It is to help you. Try not to worry. They have a multitude of contacts which can (if you let them) make your life much easier. As far as I'm aware you don't have to take any help you don't want.

Fortunately as you can see, there's no judgement on here at all 🙄

Social services referral is pretty standard at your young age, so don't read too much into it. It will be about supporting you, not judging you. Good luck with your pregnancy x

16 is the legal age.

It's incredible that you would even bother to write that tbh.

I get that “children having children” isn’t ideal but I got pregnant on the pill not on purpose I just chose to keep her. And sure everyone has there own opinions on social services but as someone who has never had any involvement with them and doesn’t know what to expect it can be quite scary

Someone, who doesn't understand why social services would be involved when they are having a baby at 16, isn't ready to have a baby. Teen pregnancies should be judged, it's not good for mother or baby.

Incorrect - the minimum legal age is 16 in the UK.

OP is 16. The age of consent is 16. Unless the father is significantly older than her / there is something missing from the above, I can’t imagine why there would need to be SS involvement.

Why ?
Just pointing out a fact.

The 1970s was 50 years ago! A lot has changed in the world since then .

OP, Social Service will be getting involved not just for the baby's protection, but also for yours. When this baby is born, you are supposed to still be in some kind of education - school, college, apprenticeship etc. YOu don't say how old the father is but if there's a significant age gap, that would also be a concern for social services and they would be wanting to ensure that you are entering into this pregnancy willingly. They'll also want to know what support you have - can you support this baby emotionally, physically, financially?

These are all perfectly normal.

You say there are lot sof women having babies younger than you but I don't think that's true. Yes, there are younger girls having babies but it is certainly not common, nor is it considered a routine occurrence with little risk.

I'm very surprised the OP knows 'loads' of people younger than her having children. 🤔

We now have a very low birth rate for teenagers in the UK

age of consent is indeed 16.... BUT legally, they are a minor until they are 18! and we do not know the age of the father? if the father is over 18.. having sex with an under 18 is still against the law

No it’s not. What country are you in?

It's 2.1 per THOUSAND for 13-15 year olds. Lowest it's ever been.

So that would literally be one other person in a massive secondary school

same as my last reply.... the age of consent is 16, but legally the OP is under 18.. its a very grey area, but sadly its there...

Can you provide a link to this law?

@molmollymazda, what are you going on about?

The age of consent is 16. Yes, she's legally a minor. However, it is still legal for her to have sex - even if it was with a 60 year old man, it would still be legal (definitely gross though).

So judging a teen parent is okay? I didn’t not choose to get pregnant I was taking precautions and fell pregnant on the pill but chose to keep her. I have enough support and help around me for social services not to be involved so that is why I’m a little concerned as to why they are referring me to them.

A minor is someone under the age of 18 years according to a definition under the Births and Deaths Registration Amendment Act (No 1 of 2002). This is called the age of majority. The age of majority was reduced from 21 to 18 years by this Act.

i'm not disagreeing that 16 is the age of consent! but the law also states that you are a minor until you at 18! i can't post a link but im sure a quick google will tell you this.