08 May 21st century-Teenage pregnancies at its lowest in England
Teenage pregnancies have always been a major issue in England .In 2014 it had the highest rates of under-18s mothers in Western Europe according to the Office For National Statistics .
Underage conceptions are usually associated with social issues , such as poor social backround or low educational levels , and within the community ‘young'(under 18s) mothers often carry a social stigma , as BBC says.
Phillipa Newis – a worker at Gingerbread , the biggest charity to deal exclusively with single parents in England , talked with BBC , and said , “ Some young mums don’t want to go out of their houses because they feel like they are being judged by members of their community .’’ “If you are told you are disgusting for having a baby you are shamed to silence”.
The number of underage mothers in England has been declining nearly every year since the begining of the 21st century according to the ONS(Office for National Statidtics).
ONS says that’ , during the year 1999 , the number of underage pregnancies was ‘39247’ , and has fallen to ‘17014’ in 2016.
The number of teenage mothers had dropped by more than 50% over those years ,and during 2016 the number of pregnant girls(under 18) was at its lowest since the begining of the strategy – and that number is still decreasing today .
What could have affected the rates , and why does the number of teenage pregnancies continue to rapidly fall? One of the reasons may have beeen the shift in young girl’s aspiration , such as to higher education , or perhaps there have been new policies introduced that have caused such a drastic change in the numbers?
Alison Hadley , OBE – the director of the first ‘Teenage Pregnancy Knowledge Exchange ( faculty of health and social sciences , university of Bedfordshire) said , “ The big reduction in teenage pregnancies is associated with the implementation of a cross government 10 year teenage pregnancy strategy (TPS) which was introduced by the labour government in 1999”.
The strategy had 4 steps ; joined up action by national and local government; better prevention through improved sex and relationships education and young people’s access to effective contraception; a national campaign to reach young people and parents; and coordinated support for young parents.
Based on the low numbers and rates of conceptions to underage women , the strategy was successful .
The strategy appears to have been working even after it has finished, as the number of pregnant teenagers continued decreasing all the way to 2016.
However the decrease of underage conceptions in England have been influenced by a web of inter-connected factors , making it hard to evaluate relevant contributions of every aspect of the implemented strategy. “The TPS also provides important lessons for governments and policy makers in other countries seeking to reduce teenage pregnancy rates.”
– Alison Hadley says to the BMC , Reproductive health journal.
Tennage pregnancyTennage pregnancy ( see the infographic here )
