Getting pregnant is an experience that shapes your life forever, and it remains just as significant no matter if it happens once or several times. For some, getting pregnant can be a challenge, but for others it comes easily. For this young woman, there have been ups and downs, but in total Angie had been pregnant 7 times by the time she was 19.
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This goes against trends in the UK which are seeing women start families later in life. Often, mums want to focus first on their career, and thankfully modern medicine allows for this. However, for Angie, who first fell pregnant at 15, her family is a blessing. Here’s her unusual story, and how it compares with current statistics in the UK.
Angie’s story
Angie got pregnant for the first time aged 15 with her now-husband Jordan. The pair met at a party and realised they were expecting just a few months later. At the time, Angie was on birth control so the news was a surprise for everyone involved. After eight pregnancy tests, the reality of the situation eventually sunk in:
I'm not sure why it didn't work for us, but we were meant to have a kid at that point.
The young parents were married by the time Angie turned 16. They faced a lot of criticism and cruel comments when they welcomed their first child, a little girl named Neveah, into the world.
On Love Don’t Judge, the young mum explained:
If somebody told me they were pregnant at 15, I would definitely be shocked as well. I knew that we weren't going to get the best reactions from people. Everyone had a different reaction when we told them we were pregnant.
Judgement and loss
Angie is now 21 and she and Jordan are happily expecting their fourth child. Although she says she is very ‘grateful’ for her family and is ‘living her best life’, it hasn’t always been easy:
The judgement can be hard. I was still very young and in school when I found out I was pregnant, so I lost everybody that I was close to because we no longer had the same lives.
She explains that being branded as ‘pathetic’ made her feel the pressure to do well even more acutely. On top of this, she and Jordan have faced personal loss as Angie went through 5 miscarriages. However, she remains positive, saying:
The miscarriages have taught me to just be grateful for the kids that I have. I always wanted a big family.
Going against the trend
Angie’s story is unusual in current times as women are having kids later and later in life. According to a recent Office for National Statistics report, the average age at which a woman in the UK becomes a mother is 31 years old.
What’s more, as ONS statistician Amanda Sharfman explains:
Levels of childlessness by age 30 have been steadily rising since a low of 18% for women born in 1941.
Lower levels of fertility in those currently in their 20s indicate that this trend is likely to continue.
For Angie, having kids was the right decision as she 'couldn't be happier’ to be a young mum. However, it is important to remember that this remains a personal choice, and everyone’s story is different.
Read more:
⋙ Exercising When Pregnant: A Risk? Viral TikTok Video Begs the Question
⋙ Here's how to get over a breakup, according to your zodiac sign
⋙ This man wanted to take a normal photo of his pregnant wife, here's what he got instead
Sources used:
Mirror: 'I'd been pregnant 7 times by 19 - vile trolls call me an embarrassment but I'm so grateful'
Refinery 29: This Is The Average Age Of A New Mum In The UK
