1. Just because I'm a mum doesn't mean I'm going to be a complete bum: re-presenting teenage mums in the UK through life course analysis. Louise Hampton University of East Anglia

2. Great Yarmouth © Ben Hampton

3. Teenage Mums THE TEENAGE MUMS WHO BECOME NIGHTCLUBBING, 30-SOMETHING GRANNIES Daily Mail, 27.04.2008 I had implant because I felt like having sex says girl, 13 The Telegraph, 08.02.12 Teen Pregnancy May be Contagious Daily Express, 9.08.2011

4. Teenage Mums: the statistics Teen pregnancy in 1971: 50.6% Teenage pregnancy rates in 1981: 30.9% Teenage rates in 2007: 26% In 2009 school aged mums: 0.16% (Duncan et al, 2010; YWCA, 2009)

5. Acceptable Life Courses Delayed motherhood Higher education Home ownership Employment Marriage

6. The Study Pseudonym of teen mum Age when baby was born OccupationResidency Libby14School StudentLiving with parents Elizabeth15School StudentLiving with parents Sharon17College Student and working part time Living with parents Kadence19Employed as a full time carer Living independently Mae18College StudentLiving with parents Natasha17College StudentHomeless - living in temporary housing Lily15School StudentLiving with parents

7. Dominant discourses: teen mums as deviant life course Children having children And I do think its time to address a problem that for too long has gone unspoken, the number of children having children. For it cannot be right, for a girl of sixteen, to get pregnant, be given the keys to a council flat and be left on her own. Gordon Brown 2009 children having children...we have become far too tolerant of social failure David Cameron 2007

8. Dominant Discourse: teen mums as deviant life course Myth of planned pregnancy Teen mums and the manipulation of the welfare system; Have a baby, get a council house Natasha its really boring and lonely just sitting by yourself in a room... I'd rather live with my mum

9. Teen Mums: The Reality After Motherhood Impact of becoming a mum Change in behaviour Relationships and lifestyle Mae He's made me look at life completely differently Elizabeth before I had her I was really rough, really mouthy, a horrible naughty Chav...since having the baby I've grown up a lot Libby i lost loads of friends...we just didn't have anything in common any more

10. Teen mums: resisting the dominant life course Sharon:I've finished my first year and have had a break in between years to have my baby and get on track. I'm going back to college in September to finish my hairdressing qualification. In 4 weeks time I'm going back to work at the Co-op and am starting on 16 hours a week. I'm really looking forward to going back. I don't want my baby thinking my mum is a bum. Elizabeth: They show mums neglecting their kids and not everyone would behave like that. It shows us all to be bad... I want to prove to people that just because I'm a mum doesn't mean I'm going to be a complete bum.

11. Policy implications Pre motherhood - Consistent approach to continuing learning for school aged teen mums Post motherhood - Tap into new found motivation by offering programmes of learning and training that provide adequate childcare - Prevention message stereotypes teen mums and undermines policy to support teen mothers

12. Thank you Louise Hampton The University of East Anglia louise.hampton@hotmail.com