Continuing education during pregnancy

If you’re pregnant in your teens, it’s important to continue your education during pregnancy.

Continuing at school, TAFE or university helps you build a positive future for yourself and your baby. It helps you develop the skills you need for employment. And it helps you build and maintain a social network, stay involved in your community and feel less alone.

You have a right to keep going to school, TAFE or university while you’re pregnant and after you’ve had your baby. Also, schools, TAFEs and universities can usually accommodate the needs of pregnant teenagers – for example, by changing their teaching and assessment methods.

If continuing your education feels challenging or overwhelming, it’s good to remember that your school, TAFE or university is there to help you.

It’s good to get support from your parents or carers or another trusted adult. They can help you look into your education options and make decisions. And you might like to use pregnancy and early parenting support services too. Some of these include Brave Foundation, Pregnancy, Birth and Baby, Core of Life, Parenting helplines and hotlines and Healthdirect Australia.

Planning secondary school education during pregnancy

You can talk to your school counsellor or other school staff about a plan for your education during pregnancy. This might include:

• modifying your timetable
• organising leave or special consideration so you can go to pregnancy appointments and give birth
• taking schoolwork home or learning online when you feel unwell
• organising supervised home visits from teachers.

If you’d prefer to learn in a different way during pregnancy and early parenting, the school counsellor can help you look into other options. These might include:

• finding schools that are good at supporting pregnant teenagers and new parents
• transferring to TAFE or completing your secondary school certificate at your own pace
• learning from home via distance education.

Planning TAFE or university education during pregnancy

If you’ve started TAFE or university or are about to start, you can speak to staff about:

• deferring or changing to part-time study
• using child care facilities
• completing your course online via distance education
• taking an alternative pathway to higher education.

If you feel that you’re being discriminated against by students or staff, it’s important to talk to your school, TAFE or university about the issue. You might want someone you trust to help you do this, like your parent or carer, a youth support worker or a social worker. If you can’t resolve the issue, you can get help from your state or territory anti-discrimination agency.

Employment during pregnancy

If you’re working, you’ll need to tell your employer about your pregnancy, and you might need to discuss work and leave arrangements. If your employer has a Human Resources (HR) manager, you could meet with this person first. You can take a support person with you when you talk with the HR manager or your employer. Your support person could be a parent, a carer, another trusted adult or a social worker.

Remember – you have a right to work during and after your pregnancy. The law protects you against discrimination. This means you can’t be treated unfairly at work because you’re pregnant.

And if you’re working while pregnant, it’s important to take care of yourself. Plenty of rest, healthy foods and comfortable clothes will help you manage pregnancy symptoms at work.

Our article on pregnancy work rights and entitlements has more information on workplace issues, leave and discrimination. You can also read more practical tips for managing pregnancy at work.

Financial support during pregnancy

You can use Services Australia’s Payment and Service Finder to find out whether you’re eligible for any income support. You’ll need to answer some questions, and you’ll see a list of payments and services relevant to your situation.

If you can’t use this online tool, you can visit your nearest Centrelink office for more information, ask your parents or carers for help, or get help from a social worker.

If you’re experiencing financial difficulties but aren’t eligible for income support, you can complete the Services Australia – Claim for Special Benefit form.