A moment that changed me: partying was my personality – until I helped my 16-year-old sister give birth

During her pregnancy she taught me so much about resilience, self reliance and strength. It inspired me to veer off the reckless path I was on

I don’t remember the exact moment my sister asked me to be her birthing partner. Perhaps it was just a natural assumption we made, having always gravitated towards one another in times of need. The thought of it thrilled and terrified me. As a flighty 21-year-old, it had never occurred to me that it would be a role I would need to fulfil.

My sister became pregnant at 16, when I was in my second year of a performing arts degree in Salford and she was living with our dad. It was 2006 and my life was operating on a cycle of nights out, hangovers and minute noodles, punctuated only by a sparse timetable and occasional bar work to keep my overdraft under control.

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