Unmarried motherhood 'not ideal', admits Palin

Alaska governor Sarah Palin and her unmarried teenage daughter who announced her pregnancy as her mother became the Republican vice-presidential candidate gave a frank TV interview about the issue.

Bristol Palin, 18, said during a two-part interview recorded for Fox News Channel that teenagers should avoid having sex, but admitted abstinence was “not realistic at all”.

Just days after being named John McCain’s running mate on the Republican presidential ticket last year, Mrs Palin announced her daughter was pregnant. Bristol gave birth to her son Tripp on December 27.

Bristol said her son brought her so much joy that she did not regret having him. She is engaged to the baby’s father, Levi Johnston, and said her fiance saw their son every day.

“He’s a really hands-on dad,” she said. “He’s just in love with him as much as I am.”

Bristol said telling her parents she was pregnant was “harder than labour”. Johnston and her best friend went with her to break the news.

“I was just so sick to my stomach. And so finally, my best friend just, like, blurted it out,” she said.

Bristol also said it bothered her to hear that many people thought her mother was making her have the baby, when it was her own choice.

Mrs Palin also appeared in the interview, recorded last Saturday in Fairbanks, Alaska.

She said she was proud of her daughter “wanting to take on an advocacy role and, you know, just let other girls know that this is – it’s not the most ideal situation, but certainly, make the most of it”.

“And Bristol is a strong and bold young woman and she is an amazing mom. And this little baby is very lucky to have her as a mama. He’s going to be just fine,” she added.

The Palins were in Fairbanks to watch the governor’s husband cross the finish line of the 2,000-mile Tesoro Iron Dog snowmobile race. Todd Palin, whose team came in sixth, is a four-time winner of the world’s longest snowmobile race.