Pregnant schoolgirl: “I’ll prove teens can be good mums”

While Rachel Hendry’s school friends are all enjoying their summer holidays and planning parties, the 17-year-old is busy preparing for the arrival of her baby girl.

baby

by Emily Cope |
Published on

Shockingly, the teenager started trying to conceive just two months after meeting her boyfriend Chris, 20.

Despite her age, Rachel – who starred in Channel 5's documentary ‘Baby Faced Mums’ - isn’t worried about the pressures of parenthood and believes she’ll be a good mum.

Rachel, from North Lanarkshire, who is due this month, says: “People have criticised my decision to be a young mum.

"But I'll prove them wrong and show them teens can make good parents. I'd rather be a mum now than when I'm older.

SCROUNGER MUM: "I TOLD MY TEEN TO GET PREGNANT SO SHE COULD GET MORE BENEFITS"

"When I met Chris I knew he was The One and we started talking about having a family straight away.

"We’re both sensible and have lots of energy, being a young mum is what I’ve always wanted and Chris really wanted a baby too."

Rachel speaks out as it emerged last week Britain’s youngest mum – who became pregnant at just 11 – has returned to school, six months after giving birth, and is getting top grades.

The schoolgirl, now 13 – who has not been named to protect her identity - had been with her boyfriend, then 13, for a year before falling pregnant, making them Britain’s youngest parents.

Statistics show while the number of teen pregnancies in England and Wales has significantly fallen, the UK birth rate is still higher than many countries including Germany, France and Spain.

But Rachel doesn’t think being a teen will affect her parenting skills and says: "Age is just a number. I'll give my daughter a stable, loving home, that's the most important thing. When she grows up I know we'll be best friends."

To read more of Rachel's story, get your copy of Closer magazine - out now!

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