Teen mums key speakers for conference

Amani Lao and Sera Lilly Lao with their children (from left) Amalia, Kingston, Luella and Stella-Kate.

Sera Lilly says being told she was going to have a baby at 16 was one of the scariest moments of her life.

But the former fashion designer considers herself lucky that even though the father of her daughter walked out on her, family and friends rallied to her side.

"I was 16 and nearly 17 ... and it was gossip through the private school grapevine. It was a really tough time for me," she said.

"I knew that I would be a single parent. I was always like: 'This is me and her'. It was never going to be me, her and him. I knew I needed to make that decision for me - that I was going to be a teenage parent."

Now 30 years old, she is mum to Stella-Kate, 12, Kingston, 7, Luella, 5 and 2-year-old Amalia and has become a fitness guru to have a healthier lifestyle and encourage women on her Fat 2 Fit NZ website.

Ms Lilly is one of the keynote speakers at the inaugural Teen Parent Support Conference being held in Auckland next week.

She joins successful Kiwi actress Keisha Castle-Hughes, who gave birth to Felicity-Amore Hull in 2007 when she was 17.

The conference is being hosted by the Thrive Teen Parent Support Trust, which has been offering help exclusively to young Kiwi parents for the past four years, running antenatal classes and connecting them with midwives, foodbanks and support.

Manager Cinnamon Whitlock said the aim was to bring together service providers, researchers and social workers to talk about issues surrounding teen parents.

On the web: thrive.org.nz and encouragemenz.co.nz