The case of an 11-year-old girl who is all set to don the mantle of becoming the youngest mother in UK has shocked and frustrated health experts
The case of an 11-year-old girl who is all set to don the mantle of becoming the youngest mother in UK has shocked and frustrated health experts who maintain that it is her age to play with dolls and not rear babies. The girl, whose identity is not being disclosed for legal reasons, is a resident of West Lothian on Scotland.
She reportedly became pregnant after indulging in intercourse while on a drinking binge. The "father" of the child is a 15-year-old boy, whose identity is again being withheld. The girl, whose 34-year-old mother has just given birth to a baby boy eight months ago says that she is proud to be having a kid."I think I'll be able to cope as I've had lots of practice looking after my brothers. I'm enjoying being pregnant - even though I get a bit of a sore back and sore ribs," she told The Sun in an exclusive interview. Her mother added, : "I'm not ashamed of my daughter at all - in fact, I'm proud of her for keeping her baby."
The Sun also said that the girl smokes 20 cigarettes a day and picked up the habit when she was 10. She believes that the smoking does not harm the baby.
Green MSP Patrick Harvie said that the case is a firm pointer towards the fact that sex education in Scotland needs a big overhaul. "I think we need to do away with this notion that sex education is everywhere and that young people have got all the information they need. There are a lot of myths out there and sex education is quite patchy in this country," he said. "The sexual health and relationships strategy from the Scottish Executive - the implementation of that is going on at the moment - needs to lead to much more comprehensive sex education."
The Scottish Conservative party spokeswoman said that the incident was shocking, "I hope that this incident will draw attention to failings that have allowed such a young girl to go on a night out, get drunk, get pregnant, yet seemingly be ignorant about the risks and consequences," said Nanette Milne MSP.
