Skip to playerSkip to main content
  • 2 days ago
29-YEAR-OLD mum of three Lauren has gone viral on TikTok after revealing that her baby was "put into a plastic bag" immediately after being born. Lauren recalls "physically trying to have a baby" from the age of 13 and was just 15 years old when she gave birth to her first child Blake (now 13). Blake was born three months premature after doctors "couldn't find his heartbeat" and took Lauren in to have an emergency cesarean. As she told Truly, Lauren could not have predicted what came next: "They took him straight into intensive care, but when they did show us a photo he was in a sandwich bag". She later found out that this was to "help him regulate his temperature", as Blake fought to survive - and that's exactly what he did. Lauren has since had two further children - Amelia (7) and Rowan (2) - with all her children coming from different fathers. She now lives with her three children and her partner Sean, who is Rowan's dad - a setup she describes as a "blended family". But when Lauren posted the photo of Blake in the sandwich bag on her TikTok account "for Blake's sake, to show him how strong and resilient he has been", she was not prepared for the backlash she received. Comments likening the photo to a "bag of carrots" and others suggesting Blake could be bullied if his peers at school found out how he started life sparked a controversy that Lauren was not expecting. Many have also judged her for becoming a teen mum at 15 - something that was a sore spot at the time, with Lauren telling her mum Rachel that she was pregnant via text message. Given the fact that Rachel "didn't speak to [Lauren] for two days" all those years ago, how will Rachel react when her daughter reads that text message back to her over 13 years later? Will Lauren be met with the silent treatment once more?
Transcript
00:00When my baby was born he was put into a plastic bag. I was 15 years old.
00:04I thought I'd come on here to talk about the plastic bag that my son was put in when he was born.
00:10When I posted the photo of my son being in the plastic bag, my comment section went crazy.
00:15Is that a bag of carrots? Why the hell would you get pregnant at 15? You're going to ruin your life.
00:21When I found out I was pregnant at 15, I told my mum through a text message and she didn't speak to me for two days.
00:28Having your children decided to meet teen parents in the future, how would that make you feel?
00:34Get up here. Good boy.
00:37I'm Lauren. I have three beautiful children.
00:40I have that one. My family life is chaotic, but I love it.
00:43This is Blake. How old are you?
00:45Thirteen.
00:46Blake is funny, very sarcastic, like me.
00:50This is Amelia. Amelia, who is seven, going on seventeen.
00:54It's very, very sassy. The princess of the family being the only daughter.
00:58This is Rowan. How old are you? Two.
01:02Rowan is a massive character. Very funny and cheeky.
01:05This is Sean. Is that Daddy? Daddy. Where's Mummy? Mummy.
01:12I have three baby dads. Blake's dad I was with for four, nearly five years.
01:17Amelia's dad I was with for seven years. And then I've been with Sean for almost four years.
01:21You do it. Every morning we sort of prep the veggies for the pigs.
01:25And then we get it all outside, get them in the run.
01:29The kids are really good at taking on that responsibility of looking after them.
01:33None of the piggies are rescues, aren't they?
01:35Thank you very much.
01:36When I met Sean, he already knew I had children.
01:39And it was never a question. He loved me and he loved the kids from day dot.
01:43Bubbles, yeah.
01:45He's a brilliant dad.
01:46We're a blended family, but we are just a family.
01:52It's like nothing's different.
01:55Numb. Numb.
01:56Numb.
01:57Numb? You've got to tuck it in there.
01:59You've got to eat it all.
02:03Say bye-bye.
02:04Bye.
02:05Good boy.
02:06Growing up, I've always wanted a family of my own.
02:12And coming into a relationship where she already had two children, that was like a bit of a kickstart for me.
02:18And I've adapted to them and I love them to bits.
02:21Me and Sean having a baby together.
02:23And obviously the other two see you as their dad.
02:25But it was really nice to have that connection and having Rowan has completed our family.
02:30But there's definitely a little room for one.
02:32Yeah.
02:33Yeah.
02:34Yeah.
02:35Dad seemed like a nervous laugh today.
02:37Why did you want to get pregnant at such a young age?
02:41I've always wanted to be a young mum.
02:43It's just all I've ever known.
02:45I got into a relationship with Blake's dad when I was 13.
02:47And from then on I knew that I wanted to have a baby.
02:50I was physically trying to have a baby.
02:52And then I got pregnant at 15.
02:54I would have been 16 when he would have been born.
02:59But Blake was three months premature.
03:01Yeah, put the basket over there darling.
03:05So my pregnancy with Blake was a struggle.
03:08I only made it to around five months before my waters broke.
03:11And then I had a scan which they couldn't find his heartbeat.
03:15So we had to have an emergency caesarean.
03:17He was 13 weeks premature.
03:19They took him straight into intensive care.
03:21But when they did show us a photo he was in a sandwich bag.
03:28And being 15 I didn't really understand what that was about.
03:31All I knew was that they were doing what was best for him.
03:33But now I know that was to help him regulate his temperature.
03:36Blake couldn't breathe on his own.
03:37He had chronic lung disease.
03:39He had a lot of health conditions.
03:43Were you worried at all?
03:44I think if I had a natural, normal birth previous to that
03:48I think it would have been more scary.
03:50But because I was so young.
03:52And it was my first birth.
03:53I didn't know any different.
03:54And we just carried on.
03:59Hello everyone.
04:00I just thought I would come on here to talk about the plastic bag
04:04that my son was putting when he was born.
04:06I recently put up a TikTok.
04:08And all of you went crazy over it.
04:10So I thought I would address some of the comments on that video.
04:13So I decided to post a photo of when Blake was born.
04:16So I put it with that and where we are now.
04:19To show the difference in how far Blake's come.
04:22I also wanted to do that for Blake's sake.
04:24To show him how strong and resilient he has been.
04:27Because he is a fighter.
04:28But that photo of Blake being in the sandwich bag.
04:32Come with a very controversial mix of comments.
04:35We have if your kid's mates find out he was born in a Tesco bag.
04:39He will not live a peaceful life.
04:41Like this is crazy to me.
04:43Because how a child needs to survive at birth.
04:46Will never determine whether he is going to be bullied in school or not.
04:49It's good to actually raise awareness.
04:51Not any of my friends have had premature babies.
04:53So it's not talked about enough.
04:56There is one saying is that a bag of carrots.
04:59And we also have one how would you get pregnant at 15.
05:03You're going to ruin your life.
05:05Actually it doesn't matter how old you are.
05:07You can still be a good parent and a good mum.
05:10And I'm a brilliant mum and a brilliant person.
05:12So let's not be too quick to judge.
05:14See you later.
05:15Being a mum at 15.
05:17I think a lot of people have an assumption of how you're going to be as a parent.
05:20You know she hasn't got a job and she can't support the baby.
05:24I've worked from a very young age.
05:26Mum would watch Rowan.
05:27I would go to work.
05:28And then yeah I had my own house.
05:30Paid my bills.
05:31And I've worked really hard ever since.
05:33To provide for the kids.
05:36Hello.
05:37Hello.
05:38Hi.
05:39My mum is a huge role model for me.
05:40She always gave us the best life.
05:42And my mum and dad both worked really hard.
05:44Cat on.
05:45Yeah.
05:48There you go.
05:49Thanking you.
05:50You're welcome.
05:51When I found out I was pregnant at 15.
05:53I told my family.
05:54My mum being the first one.
05:56Through text.
05:57How did your mum react to that when she received the text?
06:00She didn't speak to me for two days.
06:01The silent treatment was strong.
06:03So I've got the text.
06:05From when I first told you I was pregnant.
06:07Right.
06:08I think life's been such a whirlwind the past 13 years.
06:10We've never really discussed how mum actually felt about it at the time.
06:14I am pregnant and there is nothing you can do about it.
06:17It's my choice.
06:18My body.
06:19And I'm keeping it.
06:20Wow.
06:21Yeah.
06:23And then there was radio silence.
06:25For two days.
06:26Yeah.
06:27That was a bit of a shock to the system.
06:30It was a mix of emotions because obviously you've got the worry about it being your child.
06:35You've got the worry about how other people are going to deal with it.
06:38You've got the concerns about how we're going to deal with it as a whole.
06:42It wasn't a normal pregnancy and you weren't having a normal life and you weren't going through school normally.
06:48Yeah.
06:49So everything else you had to deal with on top of that.
06:51So I don't think you had time to think about how you would normally be.
06:53No.
06:54But I mean we muddled through.
06:55We did.
06:56So obviously I know you haven't agreed with a lot of my choices and obviously we've come head set on some of my decisions.
07:04But do you think I've been a good mum?
07:08Yeah.
07:09You're there.
07:11And you care.
07:12Yeah.
07:13And you do love them.
07:14I do love them.
07:15You could have easily walked away.
07:16Yeah.
07:17You could have easily got to the point where Blake thought, I can't do this.
07:21But you didn't.
07:22You stayed.
07:23I wanted more.
07:24You wanted more.
07:25It just goes to show that I'm more than capable.
07:26Yeah.
07:27I'm more than capable.
07:28Yeah.
07:29I'm more than capable.
07:30I'm going to give a hug.
07:32I love you.
07:33I love you.
07:34I love you too.
07:36Mum.
07:37Give to Blake.
07:38It's coming.
07:39The best thing about being a young mum is the fact that I've had way more years with my children than most people.
07:45Do you have any regrets about having kids so young?
07:51I don't have any regrets.
07:52It made me who I am today.
07:54I was on a rough path when I was younger.
07:57So Blake changed my life and put me on the straight and narrow.
08:00She's a brilliant mum.
08:02Can't wait to take it further and potentially have another baby with her.
08:06Do you guys like some more brothers and sisters?
08:08No.
08:09One more sister.
08:10The end goal is to have a cottage and have loads of animals.
08:13That's the dream for us, to be able to enjoy that life together.
08:17And I want my children to do well and experience everything that they can with me and then take that into their own lives later on.
08:23If your children decide to be teen parents in the future, how would that make you feel?
08:28I wouldn't mind.
08:29I want them to do well and I want them to be in education.
08:32But I know that with the right support they can do well for those things and that's exactly what I've done.
08:37I will absolutely support them in whatever they choose to do in life.
08:53I don't think so.
08:55I don't know.
08:56People get off the room you can do well and I can do well.
08:58I'm not going to shoot them on the right side.
09:01I'm not going to die.
09:02You might be doing well and I'm not going to do well.
09:03This is where I need to get an adult pic.
09:05I am not going to die.
09:08I need to walk in my head with my baby.
09:10You can see the brook.
09:11I am going to die.
09:12I want them toenteurize my father.
09:14I want them to go to the room.
09:16I want them to be a little bit in the room.
09:18I want them to try and defend them.
Be the first to comment
Add your comment

Recommended