21-year-old single mother haunted by her decision to have to have an abortion, hanged herself after listening to Ed Sheeran’s song ‘small bump

Jade Rees, a young single mother of one, killed herself after struggling to come to terms with an abortion she had just weeks earlier. She terminated her pregnancy after a five month relationship with the unborn baby’s father ended and he began dating another woman. But her decision left her ”upset and distressed” and three weeks later she took her own life after listening to Ed Sheeran’s song ‘Small Bump’ which the artiste recorded in response to a friend’s miscarriage at five months.

Tragic Jade left a handwritten note addressed to her parents and also her two-year-old son to explain the struggles she had faced since the procedure. One note said of her child:
”He means everything to me”.
An inquest heard Jade, from Oldham, Greater Manchester, had a history of eating disorders and had battled depression since she was just 14.

She had been prescribed antidepressants after being diagnosed with anorexia but was taken off the tablets when she fell pregnant with her son in 2013.

Although Jade split from the boy’s father when she was just four months pregnant with him, she had coped “exceptionally” well as a doting single mother.

She met her latest boyfriend in early 2015 but they split after she became pregnant with his child.
Devastated by the break-up she had the termination soon afterwards in October last year. It is not known how far gone she was at the time of the procedure.

The hearing was told Jade’s mental state worsened when she went to a pub she used to visit with her ex-boyfriend only to discover he had asked the landlord to bar her.

Initially she took an overdose of tablets although she had not told anybody or pursued any medical treatment. Then 48 hours later she took another overdose and was taken by her father to the Royal Oldham Hospital’s A&E department.

Jade stayed in hospital for two days before being discharged.

Dr Easodhavidhya Elango, a trainee psychiatric specialist, told the inquest how she had come to know Jade, following her visit to the Royal Oldham Hospital.
She said:
”She told me about the abortion she had just three weeks earlier, and how the split from her ex-partner had been very distressing for her. She told me she believed he had a new girlfriend and was struggling to come to terms with it.
”She denied having any past medical history or any form of psychotic illness. When I asked her about this, she said ‘For God’s sake, I have a son to look after. She told me she regretted taking the overdose, and promised to keep herself safe.”
She eventually hung herself at her home.