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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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Despite bracing herself for judgment and negative comments from people around her, none ever came.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Her small circle of friends, made up of people she had known for years, were unfazed.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n Long before the pregnancy, Phoebe had been steadily building a small beading business, making and selling key chains, crystal bracelets and other\u00a0customised items.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n 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.<\/span><\/p>\n 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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “Things have improved so much because people are more aware. Society has become (more) accepting and understanding,” she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “There’s less blaming, less stereotyping than before, (but) the stigma is still there.”<\/span><\/p>\n Young mothers often face disrupted education, limited work experience, stigma, and practical barriers such as childcare and inflexible work arrangements when entering or returning to work, said Ms Natalie Ooi, service delivery and community impact department manager of Daughters Of Tomorrow (DOT).<\/p>\n DOT is a non-profit that supports women from low-income families in achieving financial independence through employment.<\/p>\n “Beyond jobs, sustained progress requires coordinated support across employment, caregiving, and wellbeing, an issue that requires support and understanding from the wider society,” said Ms Ooi.<\/p>\n Ms Hannah Chun, 41, has always had a rebellious streak. But when she found out she was pregnant at 18, she remembered feeling “a lot of fear and uncertainty”.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Nevertheless, she broke the news to her family calmly with no tears.<\/span><\/p>\n “It was more of, ‘I’m telling you, and you need to accept it’,” she said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Ms Chun said this bravado stemmed from having to step up at the tender age of 14 to shoulder the responsibility of making ends meet at home, including paying the household bills.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Because of this, when she discovered her pregnancy at 18, she had not fully registered how young she was at the time. Beneath the tough front she put up, she confessed to “a lot of brokenness” on the inside.<\/span><\/p>\n Having grown up in a broken family, however, the pregnancy offered her a small, unexpected joy.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n “The situation with the baby’s father was problematic, and I didn’t know what to expect \u2013 but I was happy to have the baby,” said Ms Chun.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n There was just one snag: She was already waiting to serve an 18-month sentence in prison for a drug-related offence.<\/span><\/p>\n Ms Chun described her emotional state during her pregnancy as “unpredictable”, compounded by her young age and the extent of the uncertainties she faced.<\/span><\/p>\nTHE EMOTIONAL TOLL OF BEING A YOUNG MOTHER\u00a0<\/h2>\n