‘I never got to be a teen’ Pregnant at 13, mom of six tells girls to stay in school

While most 13-year-olds are worrying about homework, friends and their first taste of freedom, Rochelle Pryce was preparing for motherhood.

Now 30, the exhausted mom of six says her childhood effectively ended when her innocence was stolen by a much older man who got her pregnant.

More than 17 years later, she says the trauma set her on a path marked by poverty, struggle and responsibilities no child should ever have to bear.

Today, Pryce is the mother of six children, including one-month-old twins, and says years of hardship have left her emotionally and physically drained.

“Mi nuh feel happy from mi a 13 year old, because it is just one stress to a next,” she told THE STAR.

“Mi miss out on a lot of things, and mi not even know what it feel like to be a teenager. Mi can’t even put on weight the way mi stress. Mi couldn’t tell when last mi have a real smile,” she said.

Her six children range in ages from one month to 16 years old. In addition to the newborn twins, she has children aged 16, 13, seven, and one. However, only three of the children currently live with her.

Pryce says making ends meet has been a constant battle. One of her children receives support through the Programme of Advancement Through Health and Education, and she says the $5,000 benefit paid every two months barely makes a difference.

During her latest pregnancy, she says she survived by doing odd jobs to purchase essentials for the babies’ arrival.

Her mounting struggles come at a time when Jamaica is grappling with a declining birth rate. With fertility levels estimated at roughly 1.3 children per woman, well below the replacement rate of 2.1, policymakers have expressed concerns about the long-term implications for the country’s workforce and economic growth.

But Pryce says calls for Jamaicans to have more children do not reflect the realities facing struggling families.

“The government is saying we should have children, but it doesn’t make sense have them and we not getting any support,” she said.

Underscoring the extent of the situation, Pryce said her twins are slated to undergo a battery of tests, but the machines needed to do the investigations are not in the hospital. Born prematurely at seven months, the babies spent weeks in hospital before being discharged. One remained hospitalised for 13 days, while the other spent a month receiving medical care.

“I will have to do that private and I don’t have the money. I would not encourage anyone to have children now because it is hard times. It doesn’t make sense to have them and can’t take care of them,” she said.

Currently relying on the generosity of a Good Samaritan for accommodation, Pryce says her greatest need is a house where she can properly care for her children.

“Mi would need help with feeding and Pampers for the baby, but otherwise from that mi would need a shelter over my head so I can get to deal with my children the right way. I wouldn’t mind getting one of the government houses,” he said.

But beyond immediate assistance, she still harbours ambitions of changing the trajectory of her life.

“I would love to go back to school because I want to do nursing and break this cycle. I have to give my children a better life, so I would want to go to school and learn a skill,” she said.

Years ago, she dreamt of becoming a police officer. Instead, she dropped out of St Andrew College in Grade 10 as motherhood took over her life.

The mother, who says she knows first-hand the consequences of early pregnancy, has a blunt message for Jamaica’s teenagers.

“Mi a beg every young girl, take in yuh education first. Hold up yuh head and focus pon school. If mi did get a chance fi go back, everything would be different.”

Despite already raising six children, Pryce says she repeatedly tried to prevent further pregnancies through contraception but experienced difficulties with some methods.

She also says she requested a tubal ligation but was denied.