A young mum did not take any maternity leave from her job or time off from her university studies despite “awful” pregnancies, and instead opened her own business.
At the time, Bethany was in her second year of university, and was sure she was going to keep the baby and continue her studies without a break. She explained how she felt when she learned she was pregnant, saying: “It was a shock, but we were so pleased.” “I had no energy, I couldn’t even get out of bed, so my teachers gave me extensions so I could relax a bit. But my second year was online because of Covid, so I had the luxury of being in my pyjamas and doing university work while pregnant. It worked out nicely.”
Bethany left her part-time job a week after she found out she was pregnant, and so decided to not take maternity leave. She thought it was the perfect time to start a new adventure, despite being still at university. “We’re lucky enough to have the shop in an old chapel, and it’s like a dream come true. We’ve had a lot of appointments already, and they’ve all been through word of mouth.