Ella had a gut feeling one day walking past the pregnancy tests of her local supermarket. She joked with boyfriend Lochlen over whether or not she should take one. They tussled back and forth over the thought, laughing off the possibility of being pregnant.
“She was like, 'just get one just in case, as a joke sort of thing,'” Lochlen told The Feed.
Ella's test showed she was pregnant. Ella and Lochlen immediately vowed they would keep their child.
Speaking with The Feed as they pieced together their hand-me-down bassinet, the two 17-year-olds were eager to start their new journey as parents.
Ella, weeks away from becoming a teen mum at 17. Source: The Feed SBS
“I think it’s cool to be a teen parent because we won’t be as old when they are growing up, we will be able to do things and not worry about how old we are,” Lochlen said.
“We can love them longer,” Ella said.
Ella’s mum Kirstan said no matter her daughter's decision, she was going to support her where she can, while still keeping space so Ella and Lochlen could flourish into the parents they desired to be.
“I didn’t know if Ella should keep the baby, I didn’t know how she was going to support it, her and Lochy,” she said.
“It’s not so much the love you can give them, I think it’s more, how are you going to support the baby, because you haven’t established a career for yourself really.
“I think that’s more the stigma around teenage pregnancy.”
Weeks out from their baby’s due date, the couple eagerly expressed how they were ready for their new chapter.
“For me to be a good dad, it means being there for my partner and son, to help, to do the best I can to teach him good morals and respect,” said Lochlen.
“I feel ready. I’m nervous about the whole labor part, but as people say women are built for it,” said Ella.
Young parents prove graduating high school is possible
“I’m really proud of all the girls for getting through it with a baby on their hip,” Emily said as she waited to graduate from Year 12.
Young Families Connect, a program at Queensland's Ipswich State High School, allows pregnant or parenting high school students an opportunity to finish Year 12, while still catering to their needs as parents.
“We’ve had students who have had to catch two buses and a train to get here with a child,” said Erin Sell, teacher of the program.
“I think a lot of mainstream schools don’t cater for pregnant mums … And a lot of the time I don’t think it’s because the school wants to discriminate, it’s just they don’t really understand what the girls are after.”
Emily fell pregnant when she was 14 and had Izaiah when she turned 15.
At the time Emily wasn’t enrolled into any schools and was caught up with drugs and alcohol, even revealing to The Feed that she spent some time homeless, couch surfing from place to place.
Emily, 15, with her son Izaiah. Source: The Feed SBS
“I did not think I'd be back at school. My whole pregnancy, all that went through my mind was no, school, I'm not going back there, like no way, " said the 17-year-old.
“But once I had him and I actually saw him and looked at him, I thought, no something has to change.”
Now with two jobs, a rental for herself and her 19-month old Izaiah, Emily is committed to being an independent parent.
“Next I’m wanting to go to TAFE to do my nursing and hopefully my mechanic apprenticeship in a few years as well,” she said standing proud with Izaiah on one hip and her graduation certificate on the other.
Midwife says young parents need nurturing
“It’s quite a self-conscious age being young … being judged by the community, it’s very difficult for young women,” Debbi Sutherland said.
“Young women who are in their adolescent years, many of them have had a great deal of trauma in their lives… it’s quite difficult for them to connect to authority, to connect to health care government bodies, and it can be very daunting for them so it’s all about being relationships based.”
Debbi is a midwife, part of the Caboolture Young Mothers for Young Women, who offer a chance for women under the age of 20 to meet each week and to connect with one another.
“The most important thing is peer support, we can give all the advice under the sun, we can give health advice… but having young women together, teaching each other, that has more of an impact than me telling them what to do,” said Debbi Sutherland.
Libby Cash is 15 and attends the group each Wednesday with her four-month-old Ashley.
“Once my friends all found out I was pregnant they pretty much told me that I was going to set my kid up for failure, for being such a young mum and they basically stopped talking to me,” Libby said.
Libby, 15, has struggled with post-natal depression since having her daughter Ashley. Source: The Feed SBS
“All the kids I used to go to school with were all commenting stuff on my TikTok and all that saying that they hope that she dies.”
Libby spends that time with the group as her social escape and a chance to connect with other young parenting women. Through them, Libby was identified to have symptoms of post-natal depression and they helped her in seeking treatment.
“All the kids I used to go to school with were all commenting stuff on my TikTok and all that saying that they hope that she dies.”
“I was diagnosed with it a few weeks ago, but everyone suspected I had it from the minute she was born,” she said.
“I just get really down, and sometimes I can’t even look or hold her… when she screams it makes you feel like a really bad parent.”
Supporting Libby and Ashley is her aunt Jane, who puts a roof over their head and drives Libby to any appointments she needs to attend.
“When they are 15 they think they know everything when it comes to a baby, there’s a lot more involved as they find out for themselves,” said Jane.
“I think she is doing OK, she isn’t ready to be out on her own, but she’s doing OK.”
The PANDA National Helpline is available 9am-7.30pm Monday to Friday on 1300 726 306. More information is available at .
Readers seeking support with mental health can contact Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636. More information is available at .
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