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17th Mar 2017

Pregnant 11-year-old is ‘expected to give birth in the near future’

Gillian Fitzpatrick

We know that teenage pregnancy rates are falling: the HSE reported recently that there was been a decline of some 60 percent over the 13 years from 2001-2014.

The same applies across the water: In England and Wales teen pregnancies have been halved since 1998.

Still, in shocking news from the UK, it has now emerged that an 11-year-old is pregnant and is “expected to give birth” shortly.

The father of the baby is a young teen himself, it is believed.

“Further details of the pregnancy cannot be made public for legal reasons and the local authority is seeking strict reporting restrictions in the family division of the High Court,” reports the Mirror.co.uk.

In 2014 also in Britain, a 12-year-old girl gave birth: the father of the baby was her 13-year-old boyfriend. Her own mother is still just 28, and is now the child’s primary carer.

Two years ago, Ireland had a new youngest granny. The 29-year-old woman, who gave birth to her first child at 14, supported her 15-year-old daughter throughout her pregnancy and now helps rear the child.

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