'There's no substitute for expertise'

WHEN Megan Lodge discovered she was pregnant at the age of 19, she wondered how she could possibly cope.

The Corstorphine hairdresser felt out of her depth and worried for not only her own future, but that of her baby.

Fortunately, the NHS Lothian family nurse partnership made contact with her through her midwife, and things began to look up.

She said: "I didn't know what to expect from the pregnancy at all, so this came in really useful. I saw my nurse Val regularly, and she was always phoning and texting to see how I was getting on as well.

"I'm so relieved that she'll be here for the next couple of years, because without this I think you'd be on your own."

Megan, now 20, lives on her own with ten-week-old Rhys. She added: "My family have been really supportive, but there's no substitute for having that expertise."