Teenage pregnancy is often identified by children and young people as one of the critical issues in their communities. Children see ᴛᴇᴇɴᴀɢᴇ ᴘʀᴇɢɴᴀɴᴄʏ ᴀs ᴀ ᴍᴀᴊᴏʀ ɪᴍᴘᴇᴅɪᴍᴇɴᴛ to the education, health and wellbeing of their peers. Sunderland University Student Chloe Bates discovered she was pregnant with triplets following a trip to her GP.
A student has returned to university just months after a surprise pregnancy turned out to be triplets. When Chloe Bates went to the doctors feeling ᴘᴏᴏʀʟʏ she was not expecting to be told she was pregnant.
She was even more sʜᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ to discover there wasn’t just one but three babies on the way. The 20-year-old and her partner Dylon Freeman, 21, wd elcomed babies Jaxon, Alana and Aria to the world on November 26 last year.
Chloe, who lives in Washington and studies Business and Management at Sunderland University, said there are no twins or triplets in either her or Dylon’s family. She said: “It has been quite a sʜᴏᴄᴋ and was definitely not part of the plan. But the triplets are absolutely lovely and now they’re here, we are adjusting to life as a family as best we can. But they’ve been no bother. Dylon has been a great support. Luckily, we also have very supportive family and friends, who are all helping out, although my mam did not believe me at first and thought I was winding her up until I showed her the scan.”
While the babies were born healthy, giving birth to triplets naturally is known to be extremely difficult. Chloe was in hospital for three weeks before the birth with ᴘʀᴇ-ᴄʟᴀᴍᴘsɪᴀ, a ᴄᴏɴᴅɪᴛɪᴏɴ ʟɪɴᴋᴇᴅ ᴛᴏ ʜɪɢʜ ʙʟᴏᴏᴅ ᴘʀᴇssᴜʀᴇ ᴀɴᴅ ᴏʀɢᴀɴ ᴅᴀᴍᴀɢᴇ.After the triplets were born ᴘʀᴇᴍᴀᴛᴜʀᴇʟʏ at 33 weeks they were forced to spend time in the neonatal intensive care unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital. Jaxon was born weighing 3lb 8ozs, Alana, 3lb 11ozs and Aria, 2lb 13ozs. They were back home in time for Christmas less than a month after their birth.