‘Everybody thought because I was having a baby that I would just throw schooling away’: Meet the young mums finishing school with bubs in tow

Paige Murray used to joke with her friends about becoming a young mother, but finding out she was pregnant at 16 was still a bit of a shock.

“I didn’t expect it to happen,” she said.

“No-one even knew that I was pregnant because the [school] environment can be pretty harsh.

“I didn’t want to be in an environment where I didn’t feel comfortable.”

She left school halfway through year 10 and moved to online learning.

She has been focusing on finishing her high school education at Northern Adelaide Senior College, with 19-month-old baby Iyla in tow.

“The first time I came here, I was hooked.

“All the teachers love [Iyla] – I couldn’t imagine being somewhere for so long without her.”

Paige said she planned to go to university to study teaching.

Extra support for new mums

The Northern Adelaide Senior College offers flexible learning options for students with different needs, including a “Bubs and Me” program.

The SA Health outreach program, run by a midwife from the Lyell McEwin Hospital, aims to teach expectant and new mothers about pregnancy, labour and child development.

The Playford council area has one of the highest birth rates for mothers between the ages of 15 and 19 in the state, at 11.9 births per 1,000 women.

The national average is 7.7 births per 1,000 women.

Students at the college – which is equipped with a breastfeeding room and creche — can take on other school topics as they build their confidence, to go towards the completion of their year 11 and 12 SACE requirements.

Family learning case manager, Caitlin Emslie, said pregnant students and new mums were able to learn at their own pace.

“We try to tailor the programs to be really relevant to them, so in math they look at budgeting and cooking healthy meals, and in English they look at a child’s development.

“For our girls, there’s a lot of socio-economic things that come into play, housing, mental health or general health needs, they might be caring for other family members [and] they can experience things like homelessness.

“We have a really good understanding of the challenges that young people face in the north.”

Young parents still facing stigma

Lyell McEwin Hospital midwife Jaime Robins said plenty of unfair stigma still existed around young parents.

“A lot of people just think that these teenagers have gotten pregnant and not really given much thought to their education or their future,” she said.

“But that’s not always the case.

“I see people of all ages at the hospital having babies, and it’s not always the young mums that I’m concerned about.

“A lot of the young mums here [at the college] have thrived and done very well.

“There are lots of success stories.”

Paige Murray said she was determined to achieve her own goals, despite the daily challenges of motherhood.

“I think it’s still important to have my life, and even though I’m a mum now, I’m not going to be a mum [to a young child] forever,” she said.

“If I don’t do anything now, when she’s older and going to school, I’m not going to have anything to do.