'I became a mum at 14 and I wouldn't change a thing'

Like Lily Slater in EastEnders, Bridie Walker was a teenager when she found out she was pregnant. Now 45, she reveals how she overcame society's judgement to raise the daughter she loves

'As the wave of pain began to build, I doubled over, trying desperately to keep breathing. "Women go through this every day," I told myself, collapsing on the bed.

'But I knew my labour was different. I was alone in my bedroom, surrounded by stuffed toys and schoolwork, timing my contractions with my Garfield digital clock. I was only 14 and about to become a mum.

As a child, I never had much stability. My parents divorced when I was five and my younger brother and I would move between mum and dad every few years.

Wherever I was living, one thing was the same - I saw a career in my future, not babies. But I also wanted love, and when Ben*, an older boy at school asked me out at 13, I was thrilled. I was so naive and besotted that I never thought about contraception when we started having sex.

A year later, when my friend Anna* tearfully told me she'd missed her period and asked if I would come to the family planning clinic, I instantly said yes. She asked me to also take a test so she wouldn't feel so alone.

"This is crazy," I thought, as the nurse tested my urine. "I've just had my period." Then came the words that changed my life forever: "Your test is positive. You're pregnant." In head-spinning shock, with a GP referral letter in hand, I stepped out to be met by Anna's relieved smile. She wasn't pregnant.

"But I am," I replied. Her mouth fell open. Leaving the clinic, I walked to Ben's house.

When he became angry, my hand flew straight to my stomach. My world had been turned upside down, but I knew I was keeping this baby, no matter what.

The next day was a blur. I woke up in a panic, pretended I was too ill to go to school, then sat on the sofa to break the news to my stepmum and dad. They were surprisingly calm, but when Dad phoned Mum I could hear her furious screams.