My joy at baby No2, by mum who first gave birth aged 12
A WOMAN who became Britain’s youngest mother at 12 has told of her ‘pure joy’ at having a second child.
But Tressa Middleton spoke of her heartbreak at knowing the new baby may never meet her older sister.
Miss Middleton, now 24, gave birth to her first daughter in 2006 at the age of just 12 after being raped by her older brother Jason.
She was forced to put the baby up for adoption two years later after social services discovered the father’s identity, prompting her to spiral into drink and drug addiction.
But after building a new life with fiance Darren Young, 31, Miss Middleton gave birth to Arihanna in October. ‘I felt pure joy the moment Arihanna was born,’ she told the Sunday Mirror. ‘There were times I thought I’d never have another baby.
‘But I also feel guilty, because Arihanna is with me and my older daughter is not.
‘She’s still the first thing I think about every morning and the last thing at night. I love her so much. I can’t be properly happy without her. It breaks my heart Arihanna will grow up without knowing her big sister.’
Miss Middleton, who still sleeps with her first daughter’s teddy every night, revealed she is desperate to give her new baby the happy childhood she lacked and hopes that one day her two daughters will meet.
She added: ‘Arihanna will always know she has a big sister. I talk to her about it now, even though she can’t understand … I really hope that one day they can meet. It would mean the world to me.
‘In the meantime all I want is for Arihanna to have a normal childhood, where she knows she is loved and safe.’
Miss Middleton of Bathgate, Scotland, was sexually abused by her brother from the age of seven and was just 11 when she became pregnant. For two years, she hid the identity of her first daughter’s father from her family but at 14 she broke down and told a social worker the truth. A police investigation was launched and Jason, then 19, was jailed for four years in 2009 after a DNA test revealed he was the father.
The devastated schoolgirl, who was put into care after giving birth, was then told her little girl would be adopted.
Miss Middleton sank into depression and turned to alcohol and drugs, developing a £400-a-day heroin habit at her lowest point. But she overcame her addictions with the help of a counsellor and began to build a new life with Mr Young.
She suffered a miscarriage in 2012. But now Miss Middleton hopes the arrival of her second daughter will be her ‘fresh start’ and she hopes to enrol in college and study psychology.
‘When I first fell pregnant, I was really scared Arihanna would be taken from me because of my past but social workers can see I have changed,’ she said. ‘We rarely go out and we never drink or do drugs.
‘When I see girls of 11 and 12 on the street, they look so young that I can’t believe I had a baby at that age.’
She added: ‘I want Arihanna to do all of the things I missed out on, like going to college and getting a degree. I’m determined that her life will be totally different to mine.’
Miss Middleton’s first daughter is now 11. She said that memories of their final meeting, when her daughter was three, still haunt her.
‘I didn’t realise it was the last time I’d see her,’ she added. ‘ She didn’t recognise me and she was scared. I couldn’t hug her.’
Miss Middleton has sent her birthday and Christmas presents every year, but she hasn’t received a letter from the girl’s adopted family for nearly three years.
She said: ‘I hope her adopted parents don’t tell her that I fell pregnant because Jason raped me. I don’t want her to read it in the paper, either.
‘I think I should be the one to tell her. I want to explain everything to her, when she is old enough to understand. As for Arihanna, I’d prefer she didn’t know the full details of my past. She needs to have her own life and she is my fresh start.’
‘Thought I’d never have another’