At 16, I became a mother: a Chatsworth teen's raw story of struggle and hope

A 16-YEAR-OLD Chatsworth girl reveals her harrowing journey into teenage motherhood after school bullying led her to drop out and fall pregnant to a 25-year-old man.

Now surviving on a child grant of R550 per month and fearing social workers might take her baby, she shares her story while trying to build a future for herself and her daughter.

*Tenisha Naidoo (not her real name) fell pregnant when she was 15 and gave birth to a healthy baby girl in August. 

She said she lived in fear daily that her baby would be taken away from her by welfare authorities.

“That is the price I have to pay for becoming a mother while under the legal age for consensual sex. The father of my baby is an unemployed man from the community who does not support us. I met him soon after I dropped out of school last year,” she said.

Naidoo was not included in the 7 627 recorded teenage pregnancies data in the eThekwini Municipality for the period April 2024 to April 2025.

She only found out she was pregnant in July, one month before she delivered her baby.

The statistics were released in May this year at a teenage pregnancy indaba hosted by the municipality.

The municipality also cited Chatsworth as a high burden area, with a high number of pupil pregnancies from January to March 2025. 

Naidoo said she never thought she would become a statistic, even though she chose to have unprotected sex.

“I was bullied in school last year because I had nits and lice. The principal asked me to shave my head or I would not be allowed to write the third-term exams.

“I did not shave my head and returned to school the next day. I was sent home. I then shaved my head so I could write my exams. But I was mocked by the pupils and my teachers,” said Naidoo.

“My parents divorced when I was five. They went their separate ways, and left me with my grandmother. She died in 2020 and I was left alone. My brothers, aged 15 and 17, had their own lives, even though we lived in the same house.

“I was already a troubled child and the bullying drove me even more astray. I could not bear it, so I dropped out of school. 

“I met my baby’s father while playing soccer on the road. He would watch us play. He kept asking me to be his girlfriend but I refused. He was much older than me. My friends and people from the community told me that he would take care of me. I was not in a good space emotionally and eventually entered into a relationship with him.

“I became sexually active when I was 15, and I chose to have unprotected sex. I was naïve and never thought I would fall pregnant. In July, I went to the clinic for the birth control injection but they did a pregnancy test first, and it was positive,” she said.

Naidoo described her teen mom journey as a “whirlwind of emotions” and a struggle emotionally and financially.

“My boyfriend became abusive. I asked him to move out even though I did not know how I would take care of the baby by myself. But I was prepared to try. He told everyone that the baby was not his,” she said.

“At the hospital, a social worker was assigned to me because I am a minor. They notified me of my rights, and asked me if I wanted to charge my boyfriend for rape. I declined because I had consensual sex. 

“They also asked my family if they would like to press charges, but they too knew about my relationship. They said it would be unfair to charge him when it was a consensual relationship,” Naidoo said.

“When I was admitted to hospital to give birth, I was alone. I was scared. I was in labour for about 30 hours. During that time, the nurses took me to watch another young girl giving birth. I was horrified when I saw them cut her (perform an episiotomy).

“I ran out of the hospital. I wanted to go home. I was scared to give birth. But the guards stopped me at the gate and took me back to the maternity ward,” she said.

“I gave birth a short while later. When I asked the nurses what the sex of the baby was, they asked me what I needed to know the sex of the baby for, when I gave them a hard time during the delivery.

“I was discharged three days later. The social worker interviewed my sister-in-law to ensure I was in a position to take care of my baby. They said they would conduct regular checks and that if they found I was not coping, they would take the baby away.

This has given me anxiety. I cannot imagine giving my child away,” Naidoo added.

She said after the birth of the baby, she and her boyfriend tried to reconcile.

“He bought a box of milk and a packet of diapers. A few weeks later, he gave me R200. He thought that this would last forever, as he did not contribute anything else thereafter.

“I survive only on my child grant, which is R550 per month. Fortunately, I have had support from my relatives and people in the community, who have donated clothes, toiletries and diapers for the baby. 

“My plan for this month is to buy diapers, which are R170 for 60. It lasts three weeks. I also need to buy wet wipes, powder, glycerine, cotton buds and soap. I will buy food for the month with whatever money is left over,” Naidoo added.

She said if she could turn back the clock, she would not have had unprotected sex until she had a job and was financially stable.

“I should have waited for my hair to grow back, and changed schools. I would have completed my matric. I wish I had the emotional support to get through my challenges before I found comfort in an older man. He has evaded his responsibility of being a father. I plan to stop breastfeeding when my baby is six months old and get a job so that I can support us both.

“I am not sure what the job market holds for me but I remain hopeful. In the meantime, my focus is to be the best mom to my child. I want to break the cycle of what has happened to me growing up. My baby will be showered with all the love, care and support she needs,” Naidoo said.

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