Single teen mother who fell pregnant at 13 says implant would have changed her life

A single mother who fell pregnant at 13 says she wishes she had been given a contraceptive implant when she was 10.  

Megan Oakley, now 19, from Portsmouth, spoke out following a report in the MailOnline that revealed children have been given the implant by some NHS Trusts.

Megan, who has a four-year-old son, said on today's This Morning that her life would turned out differently had she been given the treatment.

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Teen mother Megan Oakley, 19, pictured on today's This Morning with her son Ashton-Tyler, four

She said: 'At 13 I didn't have much sex education, I knew briefly about some contraception but all I was taught at school was about personal hygiene.'

Megan started having sex with schoolboy Lucas Cragg, when she was 13. He was 15 at the time but she said he was equally clueless about contraception.

'He was a bit older but we were both so young, we didn't have a clue. We didn't think it would happen to us,' she told presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford. 

The teenager only realised she was pregnant months later thanks to doing an internet search as she wasn't aware missing a period was a sign. 

She explained: 'I started feeling tired. I was so young I didn't understand about period cycles. I only realised when I Googled my symptoms and it came up with pregnant. 

'I thought "is this really happening?"'

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Megan told presenters Eamonn Holmes and Ruth Langsford she was clueless about sex education and didn't think she would get pregnant when she started having sex with a 15-year-old boyfriend when she was 13

By then she had split up with Lucas but she knew straight away that she wanted to keep the baby. 

She nervously told her mother, Helen, 45, who had become a single mother herself when Megan's father had walked out on them when she was a baby. 

Megan said: 'She didn't know I had been having sex but when I told her I needed to talk to her she guessed what was up. She has been brilliant and supported me all the way.'

The young mother said it was difficult to carry on at school during and after her pregnancy but she was determined to finish her education. 

She said: 'It was really scary, and at 13 you don't know how to deal with people's comments. 

'Everyone knew me as girl who was pregnant or the girl with the baby so I did get abusive remarks. 

'All eyes were often on me and people were talking and whispering about me. But I stayed and got my GCSEs.'

After a 'traumatic birth' her son, Ashton-Tyler, was born weighing 10lb 6oz.

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Megan, left, thinks there should be better sex education in schools and children should be told how they can access contraception to prevent other teen pregnancies, file photo right

While Megan loves her son and credits him for making her work harder at school (before he was born she said she often 'bunked off') she thinks other teen pregnancies could be prevented if children had better access to contraception. 

She said: 'I'm not saying 10-year-olds should have sex but if they are sexually active they should be offered contraception to prevent teen pregnancies and STDs.' 

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A total of 61 NHS Trusts across England admitted they had fitted the implants in minors (file photo)

Megan is now a 'peer educator' and voluntarily visits schools to talk to pupils about contraception and how they can get it.

'Some students don't have clue, it's quite shocking,' she said. 'There should be more education about how they can access contraception and they should have knowledge of where they can go to get it.'

Last week, MailOnline reported how East Lancashire NHS Trust, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust and Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, in Liverpool, each gave the contraceptive implant to a 10-year-old during the last five years.

Meanwhile South Devon Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust, based in Torbay, gave the contraceptive device to a 10 or 11-year-old.

During the last five years, at least 53 12-year-olds were given the implant, as well as a minimum of 281 13-year-olds.

More than 3,000 14-year-olds and at least 6,300 girls aged 15 were also given the device, which releases the hormone progesterone to prevent pregnancy, inserted under the skin in their arms.

A total of 61 NHS Trusts across England admitted they had fitted the implants in minors after a series of Freedom of Information Act requests by MailOnline.

HOW DOES THE IMPLANT WORK?

• The contraceptive implant is a small flexible tube about 1.5 inches long that is inserted under the skin of women's upper arm by a doctor or nurse
• The implant stops the release of an egg from the ovary by slowly releasing progestogen into your body. Progestogen thickens the cervical mucus and thins the womb lining, making it harder for sperm to move through the cervix
• The Nexplanon implant, which is 99 per cent effective, lasts for three years before it must be taken out or replaced. It is offered at most GP surgeries
• Side effects include headaches, acne, nausea and mood swings 

Source: NHS Choices 

The numbers are likely to be even higher, as dozens of Trusts did not or were unable to provide full figures. 

While Megan thinks it is a good idea if it prevents teen pregnancies like hers, others have disagreed. Viewers took to This Morning's Facebook page to debate the issue.

Emma Jones wrote: 'My daughter is 10 and I would never dream of giving this to her. She is a little girl and at that age they don't need to know about this stuff, kids should be allowed to be kids.'

Donna Greenhalgh agreed. She said: 'Seriously why would a 10 year old even be sexually active and which parent in the right mind would even take their 10 year old for the contraceptive? This is just diabolical and disgusting.'

Samantha Johnson added: 'Would rather we taught girls to respect their bodies and their minds and realise sex is not something you just give away! Don't put young girls on the pill!'

But Claire Jones thinks Megan has a point. She said: 'My daughter is 12 and if she thought she was old enough to have sex, then she would be old enough to use contraception, this even applies for kids as young as 10 because, as sad as it, is they are maturing younger now than we ever did.'  

culled : Dailymail