Foster a mum-and-baby

Despite a recent dip in the numbers, Britain still has the highest rate of under-18 conception in Western Europe. Every year, around 56,000 babies are born to teenage mothers in this country. That’s twice as high as the rate in Germany, three times what it is in France and six times the rate in the Netherlands. In Britain, nearly 8,000 babies are conceived by girls under 16 and 2,200 by under-14 year olds every year.

Poverty, poor educational opportunities and being born to a teenage mother have all been identified as possible predicators and the number of young mums who have grown up in care themselves perpetuates the cycle. A study published by the National Children’s Bureau in 1995 showed that a quarter of women who had been in care had a child by the age of 16 and that nearly half were mothers within 24 months of leaving care.

Over the last decade, Pat Crinion has fostered 11 young mothers. ‘You can build up quite a good relationship,’ she says. ‘I make an assessment of how much support a young mum will need. Some need more practical help right from the word go – how to hold a baby or feed a baby – as basic as that. Some need more emotional support. Some need both.’

‘We became quite close, me and Pat,’ says Julie. ‘She was there when my baby was born. She video-ed the whole thing.’