Letter: The uses of mothers-in-law

I read with great sympathy Emma Cook's article on the anguish and confusion of girls who find themselves unexpectedly pregnant ("When you don't want it...", Real Life, 1 September). Even in a supportive family where children are wanted, the changes wrought by pregnancy, particularly in the first few weeks, can be very distressing. Though marriage may not be so fashionable or popular today, it does forge links between families. When I was pregnant and unwell with my much wanted children, I would have found it very hard to cope without the support and encouragement of both my mother and my mother-in-law.

Ann Pugh, York