A mum who had her first child aged 16 said it's nothing like MTV's Teen Mom - and she's still with her daughter's dad more than a decade later. Louise Mansell, now 29, got pregnant with 11-year-old Ella when she was in her final year of secondary school.
And she said while it was "overwhelming" looking after a baby while watching her friends go out and "have fun" she has no regrets. Louise and Ella's dad, 30, stuck together - getting married and having two more kids, Olly, eight and Ava, four.
And she said while many people her age are dealing with newborns, the couple are looking forward to "our independence while we're still young enough to enjoy it". Louise "hates" "horrible" TV programmes like 16 and Pregnant which she says are to blame for "completely inaccurate" negative perceptions of teen parents.
The primary school teacher from Canterbury, Kent, said: "Those TV shows always show couples arguing, struggling and splitting up over their children - but we just weren't like that. They're dramatised stereotypes and they don't always reflect real life. Being a teen parent isn't the same as it is on TV.
“I was fortunate to have such a good support network around me. Even my husband's mum is a midwife which obviously helped hugely with a new baby. But I appreciate that many teenage mums won't have that - or sometimes even the father of the child around to support them."
Louise said she has remained "positive" throughout the entire experience - and says there's one "big" benefit to having children so young. "By the time I'm 40, my youngest child will be 15, and my oldest will be 22," she said.
"Myself and my husband will be able to get that time back. We've never been on holiday as a couple before, but we plan to travel as much as possible. We'll have our independence while we're still young enough to enjoy it."
Louise didn't doubt for a moment she'd keep her baby - but did find the news "scary" at first. "It was a bit scary because we were dreading breaking the news to our parents," she said.
"There was never any question that I wouldn’t keep the baby and I wasn’t daunted by the thought of looking after her."
Luckily, she didn't suffer any judgement from her sixth form friends or peers - and said by the time school had ended, "everyone was moving on" anyway. In June 2011, she gave birth to Ella, three months shy of her starting a health and social care AS level at Chaucer School, Canterbury.
But her pregnancy, while “very good”, ultimately meant she wouldn’t be able to travel, and changed course to train as a primary school teacher. The birth was “easy” - and Ella was born at 3pm on June 5, weighing 8lb 4oz.
After starting sixth form, Louise admitted she found the experience “overwhelming”, as well as seeing friends her age being able to go out and “have fun”. The mum-of-three cites the emotional support from her husband as well as the government’s Care To Learn scheme as the main reasons for getting back on her feet.
The Care To Learn scheme helps with childcare costs while young parents study - as long as they’re under the age of 20. She said: “If you’re a teenager giving birth, you don’t have to lose hope. There’s support out there for you.
“Through financial support systems, I was able to finish sixth form, go to Canterbury Christ Church University and study a degree in Early Childhood Studies. Obviously, I wasn’t able to have the ‘full uni experience’ when it came to going out and drinking with friends - but my husband has been really brilliant.
“On the rare occasion I did go out, he looked after Ella - and to be honest, I was breastfeeding at the time and I found it more stressful going out than staying in."
Louise now has a postgraduate degree from Christ Church University and works as a year one teacher at a primary school.
