[Chrizzle]

With all this Amy stuff happening in Hollyoaks makes me think what I would do if I was a parent and my daughter had a baby. And if I was a young girl (lmao) what I would do.

What would you do if you were a parent of a teenage mother,or a teenage mother yourself?

[Siouxsie]

think i would be very supportive but upset at the same time.

[SiMoN!]

i am just worried about chris thinking of being a teenage girl

[Lauren]

If I was a teenage mother/got pregnant I would just panic, cos it would be a dilema of morals. I'm pretty much against abortion but would consider it, because at this stage in my life - a baby would ruin all plans.

[Bells]

At this present moment in time what would most likely happen to me is to become a teenage mother myself. That's a really difficult question to answer, in terms of what I'd do. It depends a great deal on circumstances when it happened, and what your intentions for the future were.

For me personally I'd try my best not to get myself into a careless situation in the first place, because of course in a relationship people tend to take precautions (and of course I'd do the same). Lots of people get drunk at parties, and the key is to avoid getting yourself in a sticky situation at one of these i.e. try not to get so drunk that someone would take advantage of you and otherwise, keep your willpower, stay strong and say NO to someone who tries to force you into something you don't want.

Failing that, if I personally did get pregnant I couldn't have an abortion. I hear of many cases where young girls come to have abortions etc. and are absolutely devastated - some of the cases are beyond upsetting. They just can't cope with raising a baby, the financial aspect, but for me I'd hope to get support off my family. Unfortunately for me, my parents wouldn't necessarily be as supportive about this as others; obviously they would be eventually but the whole thing would be just as much disheartening and a shock for them.

But I’d keep my baby regardless of the relationship I had with the baby’s father – I couldn’t abort a living thing that starts moving etc. inside the womb after only a few weeks… I wouldn’t be selfish and put myself first. That's a personal decision, however, and of course as I mentioned previously the circumstances matter a great deal. Obviously at this stage in my life I have future plans, but I could perhaps get on with that after putting maternal duties first.

[Siouxsie]

yes itsa a very difficult situation to be in but really there is so much contraception about it really shouldnt happen in the first place

[Princess]

It is a really diffucult situation to me in,me personally no matter what happened,when or how I could never ever ever have an abortion,it would be far to painful for me to give up a child.

[Sophii3x]

I'd be dead if I was pregnant right now! My sister is going through teenage pregnancy right now, and my parents have given me a warning. I would not know what the hell to do, I'm not stupid enough to get pregnant at my age anyway!

Boys never seem to care. They get a girl pregnant, then leave it to the girl to sort out.

With my sister some of my family have been really supportive, some are completly against her having it. The first thing my grandmother told my sister was "Dont get rid of it". But my other grandaparets have been pressurising her to get rid. She's been through a few miscarrage scares and she's seen and heared the heartbeat.

[Emilee]

Well, I've just found out my friend is preganant and shes really scared about it because, she doesnt want her mom and dad to find out, so i think she is planning on getting an abortion because she cant have a baby right now. It just wouldnt work..


If i was pregnant at this age i think my mom and dad would disown me soo im going to stay a virgin for a while lol.

[Psylocke]

id be fine,supporting liberal family i come from,they would help me 110% and support me all the way.

[BigSister]

well im not ateeanger anymore but if i was pregnant when i was a teenager I would have the baby and i think my parents would be suppotive but i dont think i would be in that situation

[Psylocke]

If i were a girl,i would probably have loads a kids at this stage......

[GiRTh]

This is a very serious topic.

I was saddened to read Laurens attitude on the matter and hope - heaven forbid - it ever happened to her she'd reconsider her stance.

I would probably have the kid as I feel society has moved on from say 10 -15 years ago and teenage pregnancy no longer has the stigma of years ago.

[Sunny_01]

Well this is something I am qualified to talk about lol

I actually had my eldest daughter when I was 16. She is now 19 and I can honestly say is not only my daughter but one of my best friends. It wasnt easy, in fact without the support of my amazing family I doubt I would have ever coped at all. I thought in my idealistic way that it would be lovely, god was I in for a shock, sleep deprivation, a baby that crys and can not tell you why, the fact that your friends move on as you cant hang out anymore! it all takes its toll.

I would still do the same again but would certainly support anyone who made the decision to terminate a pregnancy at that age. My eldest daughter is pregnant herself now, she is in a long term relationship and has her own hone so I am not too worried but she knows I will always be there to help her out if she needs me.

I have to say though I have always worked and supported my family, I continued with my studies and now have a pertty amazing life with a good job, and superb prospects for the future so it doesnt always end badly.

[GlitterEyes]

I think each case is completely different, you would have to analyze your own situation at the present time and make a firm decision based on that...Are you in a serious relationship, would the father stand by you, would your family stand by you, How is the money situation, where would you and the baby live, are you willing to put your education and life on hold for a while, was it a one night stand etc

Sadly alot of teenagers at this moment in time see it "fashionable" to have a baby in toe or a baby on its way...they see having a baby as an easy way to "get your own home" and "get money" from child income etc. They do not realise that it means late nights, no sleep, no nightlife, and bascially there life is put on hold for a while. They might think they are great at babysitting their little niece every tuesday for an hour but being a full time mother is tough.

[Lauren]

Originally posted by GRiT
I was saddened to read Laurens attitude on the matter and hope - heaven forbid - it ever happened to her she'd reconsider her stance.

Well I'd be saddened to know I couldn't live the life I first planned (going to university, post-graduate degree, BPS, forensic psychologist).
Unfortunately I have goals, and being pregnant would put a halt to it all and map my life out straight away.

Anyway, I'm careful enough not to get pregnant unplanned, so everything should be fine.

[GiRTh]

Originally posted by Lauren

Well I'd be saddened to know I couldn't live the life I first planned (going to university, post-graduate degree, BPS, forensic psychologist).
Unfortunately I have goals, and being pregnant would put a halt to it all and map my life out straight away.

Anyway, I'm careful enough not to get pregnant unplanned, so everything should be fine.

I wasn't having a go at you. I understand that as a young woman you're ambitious. I'm pro-choice but I always am a little disturbed when someone talks of abortion and a baby ruining their life. To be clear - it's your lifestyle that would be ruined, not your life.

[Mrluvaluva]

Originally posted by GRiT

I wasn't having a go at you. I understand that as a young woman you're ambitious. I'm pro-choice but I always am a little disturbed when someone talks of abortion.

or knitting needles for that matter!!!

[Lauren]

I don't like abortion either, but I can see why some young women would choose to have an abortion.

My stance is that people need to be careful, and not have "unplanned" pregnancies that would lead into abortion.

[Lauren]

Originally posted by BAZG

or knitting needles for that matter!!!

Yes, that was also slightly disturbing.

[The_Hitman]

Seriously though, it's not even a debate, it's entirely up to the parents, primarily the woman.

Youre not a human until youre in my phone book.

[lily.]

I'm too old to answer this from the perspective of being a teenage mum, because things were a lot different when I was a young teenager.

But, my daughter is almost 10 and I will answer this from the perspective of a parent.

If in the future my daughter got pregnant (unplanned) then I would discuss her options with her, and help her to decide what to do. She will know that there is nothing she can't tell me by that stage. We have a very open communicative relationship already, and hopefully that can only improve (despite the inevitable strops and tantrums - and that's just from me! ) ..

Seriously though, I would get her all the information she needed to make her choice, and depending on her age, I would give her my opinion on the situation, then we would work out what to do together as a family. Although to be honest, I can't even bear to think of how her dad would feel if she got PG .. especially before she's 16 ... But, I would have to give him a severe talking to first, and tell him to get over his shock and support her.

I think it's easier in a lot of ways for mothers to accept that their daughter will be a woman one day, but for fathers it's a whole different ball game. Most of my friends are the same. The mum is ok with periods and growing up and stuff, but the dads are having a fit at the length of the skirts, the idea of tampons, and boyfriends are just a complete NONO!

So, yeah, I would hope it didn't happen to either of my kids unplanned... we all want the best for our kids and that means no surprise pregnancies, but at the same time, it doesn't have to be the end of the world if it does happen.

[lily.]

Also.. I forgot to add... Hitman.. seriously.. take a slap for the knitting needle remark...

And, Lauren, I totally respect your statement and I think it takes balls to admit that you don't want the baby. I would rather a young woman admitted that and had a termination than continued with the pregnancy and resented the baby and felt like motherhood was holding her back. Being a mum is hard enough when you want it. I wanted it more than anything else in the world, and tried for 2 and a half years before I got PG with my first child,, and still there are days when life is tough.. I can't imagine what it would be like if I didn't want to be a parent in the first place.

[Lance]

I've got quite a bit of experience when it comes to this. My older sister got herself pregnant at the age of 17 in her last year of A-levels. She was due the baby around May which basically interrupted her schooling and she had to take maternity leave in the months before her final exams.

She obviously missed a lot at school. She had the baby in mid-May and did fantastically well in her exams in the end. One of the best out of everyone who sat their exams there.

He's now 2 (3 in May) and she's done really well bringing him up on her own. She doesn't have much of a relationship with our mother and my Dad and his partner decided that they would always be there to help, if needed, but would let her raise her son as she wanted.

She's done an amazing job raising him so far. The only regret she has is that she's not yet had the chance to continue with her education but there's plenty of time for that, I suppose.

From the whole experience (it did cause quite an uproar) I think I've learned that if ever I did get a girl pregnant I would support her 100%. But I really don't want that to happen until I've sorted myself out in life. If it happens, it happens though.

Also being brought up in Ireland where abortion isn't carried out (well, not legally anyway) I'd never consider abortion to be an option. I'm not against people who decide it is the right option, I suppose it depends on your individual circumstances. Sometimes it's better for a baby not to be brought into the world.

[Sophii3x]

I want to know what a teenage boy would do if they got a girl pregnant..