Struggling teenage mums turn lives around within ten years

MANY struggling teenage mums turn their lives around by the time their child turns 10, a study has found.

Elicia Thomas, 20, had her son Elijah four months ago. Picture Andrew Tauber

MANY struggling teenage mums turn their lives around by the time their child turns 10, a study has found.

Although women who give birth before the age of 25 experience greater levels of disadvantage than older mums, the gap diminishes over time, say researchers from the Australian Institute of Family Studies.

Their study of 3700 Australian mothers of all ages found that although teenage mothers were more likely than older mothers to be living apart from the child’s father, they were most likely to have formed a stepfamily a decade later.

Researchers Lixia Qu and Ruth Weston also found two in three teenage mothers had left school early.

But “by the time their child was 10 to 11 years, differences in the educational profiles of teenage mothers and other mothers appears to have narrowed,” Dr Qu said.

The disadvantage gap diminishes over time.

By the time the teenage mother’s first child was 10, half of the mums had completed year 12 or a non-degree qualification. Ten per cent had received a degree or higher qualification.

Similarly, although just 10 per cent of teenage mums were in the paid workforce when their first child was born, half were working by the time their child turned 10. Dr Qu said the relatively low levels of workforce participation reflected the “lower educational attainment and having a larger number of children on average”.

The study showed 50 per cent of teenage mothers reported they were reasonably comfortable financially 10 years after their first child was born.

The findings come as statistics show that 40 per cent all new mothers are now aged over 30, compared to their early 20s in the 1950s.

Balwyn health worker Elicia Thomas, 20, had her son Elijah 10 years earlier than the average Australian woman.

But she said she and her ­fiance, Mitchell, were “more than thrilled by the news” that she was pregnant.

“We’re really pleased he’s come into our lives and happy with our place in the world,” she said.

Ms Thomas, who has nearly finished a nursing degree, said age didn’t matter when it came to motherhood.

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