For Phoebe (not her real name), the news came at the age of 16, while on an overseas trip fresh out of completing her N-Levels.
Despite bracing herself for judgment and negative comments from people around her, none ever came.
Her small circle of friends, made up of people she had known for years, were unfazed.
They remembered her daughter’s birthday, offered to help with her craft business, and checked in regularly. “I’m happy that I met them,” said Phoebe, whose daughter turns three in August.
Long before the pregnancy, Phoebe had been steadily building a small beading business, making and selling key chains, crystal bracelets and other customised items.
Now, the 20-year-old has rebranded her craft business and is growing it steadily, with plans to travel to China to network with suppliers when her daughter is older.
Ms Noor Haslinda Md Sood, a senior social worker at Babes Pregnancy Crisis Support, said that despite Phoebe’s experience, not all teen mothers in Singapore are spared from negative judgment.
“Things have improved so much because people are more aware. Society has become (more) accepting and understanding,” she said.
