Pictures taken of Tressa Middleton soon after the birth in 2006Aged just 12 years old, this is Britain's youngest mother holding her newborn baby.
Still a child herself, the new parent's sunken, fearful eyes and inability to smile transform what should be a joyful moment into a desperately unsettling scene.
Tressa Middleton's pregnancy four years ago shocked the nation when she admitted having sex while drunk and spoke of her excitement at becoming a mother.
Now the Scot is 16 and fighting for the right to see her adopted daughter again, as the uneasy images of her holding her baby are shown for the first time.
She yesterday admitted spiralling into a deep depression and turning to alcohol and drugs after the baby was born, when she found herself battling to keep the infant.
Tressa, now 16, wants to see her child.
Miss Middleton said she has quit drugs and alcohol and spoke of her regret at ever letting her baby go.
She added: 'I'm not a big drinker now and I don't smoke hash any more. In the past I've cut myself but I don't do that any more. I'm going to give myself a couple of years to get my life sorted, then I'm going to fight for access to my little girl.
When her daughter was born in 2006, the pair were taken into foster care. Eighteen months ago, a child psychologist decided it was in the best interests of the infant that she be adopted.
Miss Middleton signed papers handing over her daughter to an anonymous couple who, when the adoption became official, decided that they did not want to allow the birth mother any access.
Her only contact is now a letter from the child's new parents every six months, updating her on the little girl's progress.
Miss Middleton said yesterday: 'I got to meet her adoptive parents but I wasn't allowed to know their names. They were maybe mid-30s. They seemed lovely but it doesn't really matter who was taking her - I never wanted to let her go.
'After I'd signed the adoption papers, I went to court to fight for twice-a-year contact. I'd even tried to make a deal that if I signed the papers I would get to see her once a year, but the adoptive parents didn't want that. They don't want me to see her. They want to get on with their lives. It makes me hate them.
'At the end of the day, she's my wee girl and I'm doing them a favour. I wasn't asking for much, asking to see her once a year, but they thought I was.
She added: 'I'm not a big drinker now and I don't smoke hash any more. In the past I've cut myself but I don't do that any more. I'm going to give myself a couple of years to get my life sorted, then I'm going to fight for access to my little girl.
When her daughter was born in 2006, the pair were taken into foster care. Eighteen months ago, a child psychologist decided it was in the best interests of the infant that she be adopted.
Miss Middleton signed papers handing over her daughter to an anonymous couple who, when the adoption became official, decided that they did not want to allow the birth mother any access.
Her only contact is now a letter from the child's new parents every six months, updating her on the little girl's progress.
Miss Middleton said yesterday: 'I got to meet her adoptive parents but I wasn't allowed to know their names. They were maybe mid-30s. They seemed lovely but it doesn't really matter who was taking her - I never wanted to let her go.
'After I'd signed the adoption papers, I went to court to fight for twice-a-year contact. I'd even tried to make a deal that if I signed the papers I would get to see her once a year, but the adoptive parents didn't want that. They don't want me to see her. They want to get on with their lives. It makes me hate them.
'At the end of the day, she's my wee girl and I'm doing them a favour. I wasn't asking for much, asking to see her once a year, but they thought I was.
2 comments:
It's sad isn't it?But I still think she isn't stable enough to care for a baby...and the fact that the baby was adopted...is somethingelse...why wasn't she offered the fostering option instead of adoption?But I just hope she sorts herself out before meddling with the baby.I know we shld judge her for her past mistakes...but at present she doesn't sound ok
Yes it's sad,It makes me so sad to look at the picture and see a such a young girl holding that baby,a mother at 12,Sex, drugs and alcohol,Even if she is trying to reform- her child has been adopted and the birth mother would be better to sort her life out and wait for her daughter to make contact when she is older... after all, she will still only be in her 20s herself.
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