Pregnancy undiagnosed: Would you ask for compensation to raise your child?

Attempting to balance a career with being a parent can be tough, but would you ask for compensation because of the costs?

Image: Pixabay/VaniaRaposo

You’re damned if you do and damned if you don’t in some situations. The expected reaction of a woman having a child is one of jubilation and excitement. So when we hear of people who don’t necessarily fit that mould, we question them and point the finger.

Naomi Dartnell was a first-year student when she fell pregnant with her daughter, Delilah, who’s now 3 years old. But Dartnell, who says she wasn’t diagnosed as being pregnant until she hit the six-month mark, is suing a medical centre and appealing for them to pay for her costs as a parent while she struggles with motherhood and earning a degree.

More:5 Women who prove you don’t have to put your career on hold to have kids

The young mum says she went to the centre numerous times, complaining about fatigue and other ailments, but her pregnancy wasn’t diagnosed until she was six months pregnant.

“I didn’t have time to prepare, or save before she came,” the young mother said, who is now reportedly taking antidepressants to cope with the life-changing circumstances, according to news.com.au.

“I don’t feel able to give her the life she could have had if I’d known. Any compensation will help her, basically.”

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And, unfortunately, Dartnell says the stigma attached to being a young mum follows her around, too.

“It’s hard even telling friends that I have a baby,” she said. “Some people take it badly, they’re a bit judgemental because of my age. It has quite a bad stigma attached to it sometimes.”

It’s obviously been a tough and dark road for the young woman, who seems to be embracing her role as a young mum, saying she was on the verge of giving up her daughter for adoption but decided not to at the last moment.

“Being a single mother has given me so much confidence and I’m definitely surprised myself at how much I can achieve,” she said

If you’re a new mum who needs support, contact the national perinatal helpline on 1300 726 306.

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