AN UNWANTED pregnancy can happen to anyone, regardless of family background and household income.

Lisa (not her real name) was 21, in her third year of university and lived it up by partying.

Then she became pregnant.

Confronted with the choice of having a baby or ending her party lifestyle, she chose to give up her baby.

Mr Noel Tan, 37, co-founder of Sanctuary House, remembered this case well as it was among the centre's first few cases.

Sanctuary House takes care of babies and puts the mothers in touch with support services while they decide whether to keep them or give them up.

Tipped off about Lisa, they approached her to find out how she was coping.

At the time, she was nearing her full term.

Said Mr Tan: 'She told us that she can't have the baby because she wants to go back to her partying and drinking. Having a baby would mean that she loses her freedom.'

Lisa was also in her final year, and she needed to focus on her studies, she said.

Said Mr Tan: 'It was sad to hear that, but at least we knew the child would be safe.

'We didn't want to stress the situation further because at this stage, the baby's well-being was paramount.'

So he and the other counsellors helped her with adoption - a choice she made - and the legal documents needed.

They did not ask her why she didn't opt to abort the baby.

After all, abortions have remained high among teens.

In 2003, there were 1,483 teen abortions out of the total 12,272. In 2006, teen abortions figure 1,391 of the more than 12,000 abortions.

Nineteen of these girls were under 15.

Noting this trend, Mr Tan said that Lisa made a good decision.

He said: 'When she came to us, she was able to make a better decision... a more responsible solution to let someone else who can, care for the baby. It could have been worse.'

Once she gave birth, there was minimal contact between her and the baby. This was done to prevent her from bonding with the child while adoption papers were sorted.

PREGNANT SISTERS

Lisa's case is among the 85 per cent of the babies they care for whose mums give them up for adoption.

About two out of 10 unwanted pregnancy cases it sees are young teens.

The rest are mothers in their late teens to mid-20s and early 30s. It also includes a handful of foreigners.

While Lisa's case went well, MrTan cannot say the same for another 19-year-old who disappeared after a few months and got pregnant again.

Even more worrying, her 17-year-old sister also had an unwanted pregnancy.

Jane (not her real name) had a newborn to care for and a boyfriend who walked out on her.

Furthermore, she was living with her relatives.

Desperate, she went to the centre.

As she sought help with counsellors, her three-month old baby girl was cared for by volunteers.

With her O-level qualification and help from another agency, she managed to get an office job.

The centre worked together with other agencies to arrange financial subsidies to help her pay for infant-care and food.

After three months of counselling, she decided to take back her baby. And that was the last time they had heard from her.

Till now, he does not know how Jane and her sister are coping as they lost all contact.

They believe that she has returned to the father of her first child.

The volunteers had tried her contact numbers and even went to her relatives' place, but no one knew where they went.

Said Mr Tan: 'It's not that they don't care. Most of these teens have no financial means, are still schooling, and are often single mothers with no family support. As a result, they come to us.

'It takes a lot for them to come forward. So rather than harp on their mistakes, we want to make sure they make a better decision for the well-being of the baby.'