Charlotte and Natasha Underage and Pregnant

Everything's stressing me out at the minute. Everything and everyone.

She sort of reverts back into teenager mode.

If we even try and talk, it ends up in a row.

I'm not bothering with her.

I'm not even going to try and make it better.

I can't live with her, not as she is.

One, two, three!

Charlotte from Conwy in North Wales is mum to ten-month-old Melanie.

Tonight, it's a Saturday,

most 16-year-olds will be out with their friends

or drinking or at a party...

..but I'm at home with Melanie!

Oh, Melly.

I got my pregnancy test in the clinic so when she told me I was pregnant,

I was like, "Oh, my gosh, what shall I do?"

Charlotte and the baby's dad were both 15 when they found out she was pregnant.

I think we were only together for about a month,

but it wasn't a good relationship, we were constantly arguing and stuff.

Where's Melly gone? Peekaboo!

The best bit was that she had already told me

her and her boyfriend wasn't having sex because he was still a virgin.

So I used to rib them and say,

"Don't go swimming without your socks on"

and everything else, and Charlotte used to say,

"Eww, I'm not popping his cherry!"

Peekaboo!

Charlotte and Melanie live with her mum Kelly and her five brothers and sisters.

It wasn't a case of this was her first time.

She has been sexually active for quite a while.

I don't know if that was because we had open conversations about sex,

even right down to positioning.

That's the kind of relationship we've had.

Charlotte used to be a goody two-shoes,

she used to be Mum's perfect child and we all used to look at Charlotte

and think, oh, she's Mum's favourite,

but now I look at her and I'm like no, she's not good, she's done some quite stupid things.

Before she found out she was pregnant, Charlotte had her future mapped out.

I was in the air cadets.

My career choice was always to go into the police or the RAF police,

because it's interesting as well.

I wouldn't mind being a pilot either!

When she said that she was pregnant, I was a little disappointed because she had already made up her mind

on what she wanted from life, what her career was going to be, and then...it's gone.

All I want Charlotte to do is to do two rescue breaths and 30 compressions.

Less than one in five young mums in Wales are in work or education.

But with her mum to mind Melanie, Charlotte was back at school just three weeks after giving birth

and is now at college studying uniformed services.

Charlotte is an excellent student

and how she manages to get the assignments in on time

and to the quality she writes them, it's a credit to her.

-What do old people wear in their mouths?

-Dentures.

I'm still at college and I still want to be a police officer,

I AM going to be a police officer...

..and having a baby is not going to stop me.

I was 15 when I caught pregnant and now I'm 16 and Levi is three months.

Natasha and her son Levi live in Mexborough in Yorkshire.

I were getting a big belly and having cravings

so I had the thought in my head, what if I am pregnant?

But I wasn't going to take a pregnancy test just in case,

but I didn't exactly take a pregnancy test until I was five months.

Natasha was living with her dad when she found out she was already 20 weeks into her pregnancy.

When Natasha,

when she's come home and said she was pregnant,

I wasn't very pleased at all.

I felt like knocking her head off for being stupid,

but there's nowt you can do once it's happened.

After she'd had Levi,

Natasha moved in with her older sister Bonnie and her two daughters for extra support.

When I found out I was pregnant, I told my sister and my mum

and they were happy for me, but you could see they were disappointed as well.

Natasha and her 18-year-old boyfriend were still in a relationship when Levi was born.

Me and Levi's father had been going out for two-and-a-half years,

but then all the arguments kicked off

and I can't cope with it as well as looking after a baby.

I can't see me and Levi's father getting back together at all.

Do you want a big family, Tash, like Mum had? Like eight kids?

I want a big-ish, but not that many, about three or four.

-You're going to wait for a few years, aren't you?

-Yeah.

Settle down, get married?

I don't want to get married.

-Why's that?

-I just don't want to.

-Why, because divorce is dearer than the wedding?

-Yeah.

Natasha's sister was also a teen mum and, like Natasha, Bonnie is single.

You don't need to be in a relationship to be a mum,

she's happier to learn to be a mum by herself,

you know, to be a mum and then to become a partner again.

This bag is for Levi's clothes, because I've got nowhere to put them at the moment.

This house is a two-bedroomed house, Natasha's room is my back room downstairs,

and it's a pain in the backside lifting the sofa bed up and down the stairs.

Natasha's stay with her sister was supposed to be temporary.

-Tasha?

-What?

-Where do you want your bags of stuff putting?

That was nearly two months ago.

I'll just put it all down here and then it's out the way for now.

-It's nice, I enjoy having her here.

-It's a bit cramped.

-It'll be better when you get your own house.

You kind of need your own house cos we can't keep living like this.

It's like living in a tin of sardines.

-It's not very big, is it?

-No.

Tristan, can you go and see Charlotte?

She doesn't like mornings at all.

It's 7am and in North Wales, Charlotte's mum Kelly has been up for an hour.

From the time I get up in the morning...

..it's just, get out of bed and start work.

-Where are your boots for school?

-Wakey wakey!

Melanie usually sleeps until about 7:45.

Charlotte wakes her up, I've made her a bottle of tea.

Can you make sure there's no other dishes laying around?

Usually while I'm making the cups of tea, I'm emptying the dishwasher at the same time.

If you didn't have a routine in the morning, you'd soon get overwhelmed

with everything that's got to be done.

Melanie! What are you doing?

Charlotte is very much a typical teenager. She won't go out unless she looks absolutely spot on.

Kelly takes 11-month-old Melanie to nursery so that Charlotte can continue her education.

Mum, try not to forget Melanie's pram this time.

You could always put the pram in the car yourself.

-Only if I'm going to be late.

-Daniel, have you got your shoes on?

I don't work, so it gives me the opportunity to provide that support

for Charlotte, and a lot of people don't have that opportunity.

I don't think Charlotte realises sometimes exactly how much I do.

After a long day at college,

Charlotte is faced with looking after an increasingly active Melanie.

Melanie is that age where she's climbing on furniture

and climbing into things, and Charlotte is having to chase her more.

Melanie! No!

Melanie! Don't touch!

No!

Melanie, no!

I think she gets overwhelmed by it at times.

She loves all the good bits, but when it comes to the boring stuff, like the cleaning up after her,

she sort of reverts back into teenager mode.

She will be completely and utterly lazy.

I try and have a good relationship with her. It has been tense since Melanie was born.

Over the last few weeks, Kelly has become concerned

that Charlotte's struggling with the increasing demands of motherhood.

It was all right when Melanie was a little, tiny baby cos she was cute and cuddly but now she's up and...

Spoilt.

Yeah, and she's got no routine or bedtime.

I always have a go at Charlotte for that.

Well, she was up at 11:45 the other night.

She's started banging on my walls now so it keeps me up as well.

She doesn't clean up after her,

there was a bowl and a half of stuff out there yesterday.

-Of Melanie's?

-And Charlotte's.

All this washing here was in the basket and she's just thrown it there so she can take the basket.

It's a shame because I used to think of her as my best friend.

She was your best child!

She was your favourite, I remember being so jealous of her.

-Are you washing your hair?

-To try to get Charlotte to do things for herself,

Kelly has taken radical action.

I've withdrawn every kind of support from Charlotte.

You know, I don't cook for her, I don't do her dishes,

I don't do her washing,

I don't take Melanie here, there and everywhere for her.

I don't do any of that.

I don't understand why she's being the way she is,

I don't understand what's changed in such a short space of time.

It's February, and today is Melanie's first birthday party.

Melanie, shall we bounce?

Charlotte's relationship with her mum has become so strained

that Kelly hasn't turned up to the party.

She didn't tell me she wasn't coming, but she didn't really say she was.

We're not getting on that well, but she could have turned up.

At the end of the day, Melanie is never going to be one again.

It's her loss, not mine.

In Yorkshire, 16-year-old Natasha has had a change of heart about being a single mum.

Walk down there and find a bench.

Baby Levi is no longer the only man in Natasha's life.

She's got a new boyfriend - 22-year-old catering assistant, Daryl.

For lunch, usually take her to KFC or something, she's crazy about chicken.

I want to go on the donkeys!

You may be just a little bit too big.

Me and Natasha started talking on Facebook, texting and it progressed from there.

Wow!

When I first saw her, they were the first words that I thought.

-What's that, is it a duck?

-Seagull.

Physical attraction was there.

Then when we got speaking, you know, I could tell that she was a down to earth girl.

The thing I like most about Daryl is his personality

because he's a really nice lad, he actually cares about your feelings.

It was love at first sight in my eyes, I don't know about him.

-She's got a very weird, fun personality to be with.

-Thank you! Weird.

I wouldn't change it for anything, that's the main reason why I love her for it.

Daryl lives 60 miles away from Natasha with his parents

so to get some time together, they're staying at a bed and breakfast.

-It's a bit awkward though isn't it?

-Yeah, not having a kitchen or 'owt, unless you want Pot Noodles,

there's not a lot else we can do.

I think it's nice to be out of Bonnie's house,

just for the fact you've got time alone and space to do things your own way.

I find it easier to spend time with him when we're by ourselves with just Levi

because we get to spend time as a family.

He tries this best with Levi and I suppose that's all that really matters.

I honestly don't see a problem with there being children in a relationship already.

As long as you're willing to love that child as if it's your own, there shouldn't be a problem at all.

I'm quite lucky so far. He's not done the worst of the three.

He's not weed on me yet.

I don't think he needs a lot of directing.

When he first changed his bum, he went in head first with a smelly one, but he did it OK.

Natasha and Levi are still sleeping in sister Bonnie's back room.

Hello, take a seat.

Today, Natasha's trying to find them a home of their own.

Do you want to tell me what you're looking for?

-A two-bedroomed house.

-Can I ask, are you working at all?

-No.

-Have you looked into the housing benefit system?

-See what help you can get.

-They said £98 a week.

-£98 a week.

Natasha is eligible for housing benefit,

so the council will pay towards her rent, but she'll have to come up with a deposit of £400.

I'm most excited about just having my own space and be able to do what I want.

Daryl will be coming down during hours that he's not got work.

We'll have our own place that we can just sit down and talk

and spend time together without everyone else.

This is the living room, so you have a real log burning fire there.

Only one in ten teen mums lives independently.

Through here you've got your kitchen.

Since she was 18, Natasha's sister's been in that position,

with only state benefits for support. Now Natasha faces the same challenges.

I don't think she's thought about it properly, about living on her own.

She's got to pay for gas and electricity.

She needs to sort out all the paperwork for her housing benefit,

council tax, sort her water out, TV licence.

-It's going to be difficult.

-This is the second bedroom, decorated for the little one.

I wouldn't say I'm scared about the responsibility,

run the house, look after Levi, because I've always got help,

but I'll most probably find it hard after what I've heard from my sisters.

The house is really nice.

I didn't think there'd be anything like that with so much furniture already in it.

Hopefully I can afford it and get moved in as soon as.

Kieron, you need to go and have a wash, do your teeth and get dressed.

In North Wales, things between Charlotte and her mum have hit rock bottom.

Charlotte's in bed this morning. She normally is at this time.

Since Kelly stopped taking Melanie to nursery, Charlotte's been struggling with college.

Charlotte can't be bothered getting the bus in the morning

to take Melanie to the creche so Charlotte doesn't go to college.

See you later, Mum!

Nobody does anything for us two.

It's just like Charlotte's not here, Melanie is here sometimes

because sometimes they all decide to talk to her and sometimes they decide to walk straight past her.

Mum don't drop off Melanie any more so I can't really go to college

so I think I might drop out for the rest of the year.

She's still got the nursery placement, though.

Yeah, and how do you expect me to get there?

Well, you could get up a bit earlier and go by bus.

Yeah, two buses. Don't think so.

When I had six kids, I still managed to get you all ready

and take you to school and go to college.

Didn't want to go to college anyway. Did me a favour.

'As long as I was picking up and carrying after her,

'she was fine to go, but now she's just thrown it all away.'

If she really wanted to do what she said she wanted to do,

she'd only have to get up a little bit earlier.

Maybe not make so much fuss about her hair and her make-up,

get on a bus and take Melanie to the creche.

The relationship breakdown is having a knock-on effect on everyone in the house.

Should be in bed by about eight o'clock.

-You never take her to bed that early.

-That's how much interest you pay to her any more

-because she's been going to bed at eight o'clock for quite a while.

-No, she hasn't.

-Yeah, she has.

-Is this nice, Melanie?

-Shut it. I am being nice to you.

Oh, yeah? So last night when I was shouting you loads and loads and loads and you were ignoring me.

-You can't expect me to just drop everything for you, love.

-Yeah, you should.

When she's here, you can cut the atmosphere with a knife.

It's just so tense.

Everybody is feeling it, and it's horrible living here, it's absolutely horrible.

Don't even start...

Right, no more.

All gone!

No, it's not yay, naughty.

Everything is stressing me out at the moment, everything and everyone.

First, my mum and that lot.

Second, Melanie, because I'm not used to having her all day, every day.

Normally if I come in the room, Charlotte leaves.

If Charlotte's in there, I leave.

We don't normally sit in a room together any more.

If we even try and talk, it ends up in row.

It would be easier if my mum was helping me,

but I'm not bothering with her, I'm not going to try and make it better anymore.

I dearly love Melanie and I do love Charlotte,

but I don't like her, I can't live with her,

not as she is.

In Yorkshire, Natasha and Daryl have been going out together for almost three weeks.

Natasha didn't get the house she wanted because she couldn't afford the deposit,

but other things in her life are moving on.

Natasha's dad has received an unexpected request.

Daryl sent me a message on Facebook asking for my daughter's hand in marriage.

I was pleased about him sending the message,

at least I know that he's going to be looking after her and that he likes her.

I just sent him permission and wished him congratulations.

I was very nervous of asking Natasha to marry me.

It's a big commitment at the best of times.

I wanted to reassure her that I'm not going anywhere, I'm here to stay.

When I found out he was actually serious, I was very shocked

because I didn't think it would be for a couple more months, maybe years.

Let's see your ring. That's really pretty,

Aw, congratulations.

Did you get down on one knee and hold her hand?

Yeah, and she just sat there giggling for a while

and then turned around and said yes.

How long have you been together?

Been together about three weeks.

-Don't you think people will think that it's a bit sudden?

-It feels...I don't know, normal.

It just felt right.

In North Wales, there have been massive changes over the last few days.

Charlotte's mum has thrown her and Melanie out, so they've been taken in by Charlotte's aunt.

My mum just said all your stuff will be outside by 7pm, don't bother bringing your keys back.

I've changed the locks so I was like fair enough but that's pretty sad.

On Monday, everything came to a head.

We'd had a really horrendous weekend with Charlotte

I'd said to Charlotte, enough's enough, don't bother coming back today.

That's it, because I don't want to argue with her any more.

Right now, I just don't even want to see her.

I don't really want to go back home, I don't think I'd even be allowed.

I feel happier anyway, just not coming home to a stressful house

where it's all tense and stuff, so I do feel a lot better.

Moving to her aunt's has improved other areas of Charlotte's life, too.

Now that I'm staying here, I'm closer to Melanie's nursery

so I'm going back to college full time now.

I think she'll achieve anything she puts her mind to.

Anything is possible with her,

you've just got to work hard and stick to it. Dead proud of you, I am.

The reason that I do what I do is because

I don't want to turn out like my mum.

She doesn't have a job, for whatever reason,

but I want to try and get one because I know it was a pain in the bum

seeing my mum sit around all day and it annoyed me so much so I don't want to do that.

You've got to bear in mind that while Melanie is so young, you're not going to be able to work,

but you are doing the right thing by bettering yourself.

I've got that career choice that I want and I'm going to aim for it, even if I have got Melanie.

-Yeah, and you can study to get that, can't you?

-Yeah.

What do you think I should do next, move out or stay here with you?

Well, I'd love to have you stay here with me, but it's room, isn't it?

With eight people living in three bedrooms, social services have deemed the house overcrowded,

so Charlotte's high priority on the housing waiting list.

When I get my own place,

depending on where I end up depends on whether I'll be able to stay at college and stuff,

it could be harder than what it is now.

In Yorkshire, Natasha's set a wedding date for later this year.

-What kind of thing have you got in mind?

-A big, princessy one.

Today, she's on a mission with her sister Bonnie to find her perfect dress.

Huge layers, nets underneath.

You've got all this beautiful beading at the top.

Ahh, you look like a grown up now, you're not my baby sister, I can't poke you no more.

I was surprised when I heard about the wedding.

I guess it's when you find the right person, you're happy

and if things change you can always get a divorce nowadays.

You look like you're going to cry!

Oh, come here! You all right? Look at your mum.

It feels really weird because I didn't think I'd ever get married,

I never wanted to, but now I just do.

I've never felt this way that I do with Daryl

so I'm guessing it just means he is the right man.

Most people would think I'm stupid and I'm rushing into things.

I don't feel as if I'm rushing into things,

it's just one of those heat of the moment things and it feels right.

-That dress is nice.

-Be nicer if it were puffier.

Natasha is still waiting for her new home, but the wedding plans are on track, if not on budget.

I want a big cake, a horse and carriage, big dress.

Something not missed by Daryl, who's using his life savings to pay for the big day.

I knew there was a lot you needed to finance and sort out,

but it's more than I expected now, it just keeps getting worse and worse.

Go and give you a bath.

I'm feeling more of a family than when I first met Levi.

I love them both to bits and I wouldn't want to replace them.

I'm excited very much about my future with Natasha,

having her and Levi and any future family that we may have.

-Do you think we'll be like them old people, then?

-Hope so.

I'm not exactly trying to get pregnant because I don't want to get pregnant yet,

but if I do actually catch pregnant then I'd not get rid of it,

I'd just work through it like I did Levi.

It's one of my little dreams, having a relationship, getting married,

having children and living my life.

In North Wales, Charlotte and Melanie have moved again.

My room is the one on the left above the door, with the big bay window.

Their new home is close to both Melanie's nursery and Charlotte's college,

but it's only temporary council accommodation in a converted hotel.

You've got to get in through the front door within a minute or the alarms go off,

you're not allowed visitors, you've got to be in at 12 o'clock at night,

but it's a decent place.

I just hope eventually we'll get back to speaking terms,

that I can be part of her life and Melanie's. At the end of the day I'm still her mum.

I still worry about her.

I don't think we'll sort it out because she's stubborn, I'm stubborn

and it's just not going to work, is it?

But I miss my little brothers and my sister. Hopefully I'll still see them.

Against the odds, Charlotte is back on track to finish her college course.

I'm still aiming to be a police officer in the long run.

I don't see why any young mum should not follow what they've always wanted to do.

Just because they've got a kid it doesn't mean nothing, and they should carry on with their ideas for life.

Next time, we meet Becky from Fife...

-What's wrong?

-I'm tired, Mum.

-It's what it's like being a mum.

He should have been in his bed ages ago.

I would like her to bond better with Kenzie.

-..and 15-year-old Davita.

-Church has been quite a big support at times.

I think I just cried my way through the first two weeks.

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