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The hard realities of being a teen mum in Singapore, then and now
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Summary
Having grown up in a broken family, however, the pregnancy offered her a small, unexpected joy. "The situation with the baby's father was problematic, and I didn't know what to expect – but I was happy to have the baby," said Ms Chun. Ms Chun described her emotional state during her pregnancy as "unpredictable", compounded by her young age and the extent of the uncertainties she faced. "There were moments of depression that I didn't understand or know how to articulate then," said Ms Chun. Ms Tan described herself as an introvert who had never been a natural salesperson. "I was so young, and I didn't know if people would trust me," she said. "I had a lot of self-doubt." Meanwhile, Ms Tan's husband, Mr Glenn Tan, had entered the tattoo industry immediately after National Service (NS) and worked at a studio before opening his own in 2017 at the age of 24. For starters, she was 25 when she and her husband purchased their condominium unit. "If I didn't have a child, at 25 I'd probably still be at my mum's house, not caring about anything," said Ms Tan. "Now I really want to earn as much as I can, upgrade our house, take my son overseas and show him more of the world.” ‘A DIFFERENT PATH’ Ms Adlin Zulaikha had barely completed her first semester at polytechnic when she found out she was pregnant.
## Summary
Having grown up in a broken family, however, the pregnancy offered her a small, unexpected joy. "The situation with the baby's father was problematic, and I didn't know what to expect – but I was happy to have the baby," said Ms Chun. Ms Chun described her emotional state during her pregnancy as "unpredictable", compounded by her young age and the extent of the uncertainties she faced. "There were moments of depression that I didn't understand or know how to articulate then," said Ms Chun. Ms Tan described herself as an introvert who had never been a natural salesperson. "I was so young, and I didn't know if people would trust me," she said. "I had a lot of self-doubt." Meanwhile, Ms Tan's husband, Mr Glenn Tan, had entered the tattoo industry immediately after National Service (NS) and worked at a studio before opening his own in 2017 at the age of 24. For starters, she was 25 when she and her husband purchased their condominium unit. "If I didn't have a child, at 25 I'd probably still be at my mum's house, not caring about anything," said Ms Tan. "Now I really want to earn as much as I can, upgrade our house, take my son overseas and show him more of the world.” ‘A DIFFERENT PATH’ Ms Adlin Zulaikha had barely completed her first semester at polytechnic when she found out she was pregnant.
## Article Content
Advertisement
Ground Up
The hard realities of being a teen mum in Singapore, then and now
Has society grown more accepting of teen mothers? Five women tell CNA TODAY their stories of having children in their teens.
Ms Hannah Chun, now 41, became a mother at 18 years old. (Photo: CNA/Justin Tan)
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This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Nicole Lam
Nicole Lam
03 Apr 2026 09:30PM
(Updated: 03 Apr 2026 11:54PM)
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During her second year of polytechnic, Ms Shanel Lim, then almost 18, took a pregnancy test with her then-boyfriend in a public toilet. When she saw the two lines on the test denoting a positive result, she broke down right there and then.
"I just crashed out and cried," she said.
Immediately, she made an appointment with a gynaecologist. That visit revealed that she was already approaching her third trimester.
What worried her more than the impending arrival of a newborn was the timing.
"I didn't want to add on to my already full plate," she said, citing family issues at home on top of her schooling.
She worked up the courage to tell her parents, who were initially upset. However, her mother soon shifted focus to making sure Ms Lim was eating well and getting enough nutrients for the baby.
As luck would have it, Ms Lim's estimated due date fell during her polytechnic holidays. She sat her exams two weeks before going into labour. After her one-month confinement, she went straight back to school – and quickly found herself struggling to balance education and childcare.
"The cost of raising a child really hit me like a truck," said Ms Lim. Milk powder and diapers were her two biggest expenses.
As a single mother, Ms Lim was not entitled to the Baby Bonus, a government scheme that provides cash gifts and co-savings for married couples with children.
"Children of single parents are still children of Singapore," she said.
She spent her remaining time in polytechnic picking up as many part-time retail shifts as she could outside of classes.
To get the most bang for her buck, she also diligently tracked flash sales on Shopee, made her purchases in bulk and trawled Baby Expos for deals – although even those, she found, were not that much cheaper.
Ms Lim is now 26, working as a pre-school teacher. She is concurrently pursuing a part-time degree in early childhood education.
Looking back, she told CNA TODAY that motherhood has ultimately "focused" her.
"It has pushed me to climb higher, get a better salary and provide my child with a better quality of life."
According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's Report on Registration of Births and Deaths 2024, 244 babies were born to mothers aged 19 and below in 2024.
This is a 7 per cent increase from 228 the year before, and a 12 per cent rise from the 2022 number of 218 babies.
The myriad challenges of teen motherhood, however, do not look the same for everyone.
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No time to teen: These youths juggle school and work part-time to support their families
Women are starting more companies than ever in Singapore but why are their businesses slow to take off?
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.
Despite bracing herself for judgment and negative comments from people around her, none ever came.
Her small circle of friends, made up of people she had known for years, were unfazed.
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.
Long before the pregnancy, Phoebe had been steadily building a small beading business, making and selling key chains, crystal bracelets and other customised items.
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.
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.
"Things have improved so much because people are more aware. Society has become (more) accepting and understanding," she said.
"There's less blaming, less stereotyping than before, (but) the stigma is still there."
Young mothers often face disr
---
## Expert Analysis
### Merits
- DOT is a non-profit that supports women from low-income families in achieving financial independence through employment. "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.
### Areas for Consideration
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Related: No time to teen: These youths juggle school and work part-time to support their families Women are starting more companies than ever in Singapore but why are their businesses slow to take off?
- DOT is a non-profit that supports women from low-income families in achieving financial independence through employment. "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.
### Implications
- When she saw the two lines on the test denoting a positive result, she broke down right there and then. "I just crashed out and cried," she said.
- She spent her remaining time in polytechnic picking up as many part-time retail shifts as she could outside of classes.
- Society has become (more) accepting and understanding," she said. "There's less blaming, less stereotyping than before, (but) the stigma is still there." 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).
- Having grown up in a broken family, however, the pregnancy offered her a small, unexpected joy. "The situation with the baby's father was problematic, and I didn't know what to expect – but I was happy to have the baby," said Ms Chun.
### Expert Commentary
This article covers tan, chun, mother topics. Notable strengths include discussion of tan. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 2619.
Having grown up in a broken family, however, the pregnancy offered her a small, unexpected joy. "The situation with the baby's father was problematic, and I didn't know what to expect – but I was happy to have the baby," said Ms Chun. Ms Chun described her emotional state during her pregnancy as "unpredictable", compounded by her young age and the extent of the uncertainties she faced. "There were moments of depression that I didn't understand or know how to articulate then," said Ms Chun. Ms Tan described herself as an introvert who had never been a natural salesperson. "I was so young, and I didn't know if people would trust me," she said. "I had a lot of self-doubt." Meanwhile, Ms Tan's husband, Mr Glenn Tan, had entered the tattoo industry immediately after National Service (NS) and worked at a studio before opening his own in 2017 at the age of 24. For starters, she was 25 when she and her husband purchased their condominium unit. "If I didn't have a child, at 25 I'd probably still be at my mum's house, not caring about anything," said Ms Tan. "Now I really want to earn as much as I can, upgrade our house, take my son overseas and show him more of the world.” ‘A DIFFERENT PATH’ Ms Adlin Zulaikha had barely completed her first semester at polytechnic when she found out she was pregnant.
## Article Content
Advertisement
Ground Up
The hard realities of being a teen mum in Singapore, then and now
Has society grown more accepting of teen mothers? Five women tell CNA TODAY their stories of having children in their teens.
Ms Hannah Chun, now 41, became a mother at 18 years old. (Photo: CNA/Justin Tan)
New: You can now listen to articles.
This audio is generated by an AI tool.
Nicole Lam
Nicole Lam
03 Apr 2026 09:30PM
(Updated: 03 Apr 2026 11:54PM)
Bookmark
Bookmark
Share
Telegram
Set CNA as your preferred source on Google
Add CNA as a trusted source to help Google better understand and surface our content in search results.
Read a summary of this article on FAST.
Get bite-sized news via a new
cards interface. Give it a try.
Click here to return to FAST
Tap here to return to FAST
FAST
During her second year of polytechnic, Ms Shanel Lim, then almost 18, took a pregnancy test with her then-boyfriend in a public toilet. When she saw the two lines on the test denoting a positive result, she broke down right there and then.
"I just crashed out and cried," she said.
Immediately, she made an appointment with a gynaecologist. That visit revealed that she was already approaching her third trimester.
What worried her more than the impending arrival of a newborn was the timing.
"I didn't want to add on to my already full plate," she said, citing family issues at home on top of her schooling.
She worked up the courage to tell her parents, who were initially upset. However, her mother soon shifted focus to making sure Ms Lim was eating well and getting enough nutrients for the baby.
As luck would have it, Ms Lim's estimated due date fell during her polytechnic holidays. She sat her exams two weeks before going into labour. After her one-month confinement, she went straight back to school – and quickly found herself struggling to balance education and childcare.
"The cost of raising a child really hit me like a truck," said Ms Lim. Milk powder and diapers were her two biggest expenses.
As a single mother, Ms Lim was not entitled to the Baby Bonus, a government scheme that provides cash gifts and co-savings for married couples with children.
"Children of single parents are still children of Singapore," she said.
She spent her remaining time in polytechnic picking up as many part-time retail shifts as she could outside of classes.
To get the most bang for her buck, she also diligently tracked flash sales on Shopee, made her purchases in bulk and trawled Baby Expos for deals – although even those, she found, were not that much cheaper.
Ms Lim is now 26, working as a pre-school teacher. She is concurrently pursuing a part-time degree in early childhood education.
Looking back, she told CNA TODAY that motherhood has ultimately "focused" her.
"It has pushed me to climb higher, get a better salary and provide my child with a better quality of life."
According to the Immigration and Checkpoints Authority's Report on Registration of Births and Deaths 2024, 244 babies were born to mothers aged 19 and below in 2024.
This is a 7 per cent increase from 228 the year before, and a 12 per cent rise from the 2022 number of 218 babies.
The myriad challenges of teen motherhood, however, do not look the same for everyone.
CNA Games
Guess Word
Crack the word, one row at a time
Buzzword
Create words using the given letters
Mini Sudoku
Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser
Mini Crossword
Small grid, big challenge
Word Search
Spot as many words as you can
Show More
Show Less
Related:
No time to teen: These youths juggle school and work part-time to support their families
Women are starting more companies than ever in Singapore but why are their businesses slow to take off?
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.
Despite bracing herself for judgment and negative comments from people around her, none ever came.
Her small circle of friends, made up of people she had known for years, were unfazed.
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.
Long before the pregnancy, Phoebe had been steadily building a small beading business, making and selling key chains, crystal bracelets and other customised items.
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.
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.
"Things have improved so much because people are more aware. Society has become (more) accepting and understanding," she said.
"There's less blaming, less stereotyping than before, (but) the stigma is still there."
Young mothers often face disr
---
## Expert Analysis
### Merits
- DOT is a non-profit that supports women from low-income families in achieving financial independence through employment. "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.
### Areas for Consideration
- CNA Games Guess Word Crack the word, one row at a time Buzzword Create words using the given letters Mini Sudoku Tiny puzzle, mighty brain teaser Mini Crossword Small grid, big challenge Word Search Spot as many words as you can Show More Show Less Related: No time to teen: These youths juggle school and work part-time to support their families Women are starting more companies than ever in Singapore but why are their businesses slow to take off?
- DOT is a non-profit that supports women from low-income families in achieving financial independence through employment. "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.
### Implications
- When she saw the two lines on the test denoting a positive result, she broke down right there and then. "I just crashed out and cried," she said.
- She spent her remaining time in polytechnic picking up as many part-time retail shifts as she could outside of classes.
- Society has become (more) accepting and understanding," she said. "There's less blaming, less stereotyping than before, (but) the stigma is still there." 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).
- Having grown up in a broken family, however, the pregnancy offered her a small, unexpected joy. "The situation with the baby's father was problematic, and I didn't know what to expect – but I was happy to have the baby," said Ms Chun.
### Expert Commentary
This article covers tan, chun, mother topics. Notable strengths include discussion of tan. Areas of concern are also raised. Readability: Flesch-Kincaid grade 0.0. Word count: 2619.
tan
chun
mother
son
pregnancy
husband
didn
baby
